Technical Director of the Women’s football programme for the Guyana Football Federation (GFF) Mark Rodrigues, along with coach of the local female team Wayne ‘Wiggy’ Dover and overseas coaches Edwin De Rosario and Rohan Narine are all expressing their optimism for a successful Women’s Friendly International Tournament.The event which is set to commence Thursday with the first match at the Guyana National Stadium, will feature an overseas and local Guyana team along with Suriname in the triangular tournament which ends on Sunday.
At a press conference held at the headquarters of the GFF yesterday, Rodrigues said that since they kick started the women’s programme two years ago and played their first match in the Turks and Caicos their pool of overseas players had grown by some 200%.
He said now with the GFF doing their part in Guyana by successfully completing their Women’s League last month, it triggered a fresh start for the ladies where the sport of football was concerned. Dover, more known for his exploits with the male side which he led to victory in the Suriname Independence Cup, came in for high praise for the outstanding work done with the local ladies following their encampment.The dreadlocked coach said that when he first received the call from the federation, he was hesitant to take the post but after working with the ladies whom he said were receptive of his teaching methods, he is contemplating making a switch.
“I’m happy to be a part of the staff and I’m happy to be part of the programme. Who knows I feel like in the near future I might just direct my attention to these ladies for the betterment of women’s’ football in Guyana,” Dover said.According to Rodrigues, he constantly drills in the minds of the overseas players all of whom are playing at the collegiate level that “the purpose of doing this is for the girls in Guyana, I was born and raised in Guyana and the girls I tell them over and over that everything they do is for the future of women’s football and the goal is to have a team of players who are primarily from here to help them get scholarships to the US.”
The tournament will see the local ladies squaring up against their overseas counterparts and according to Colin Baker could only be fitting for the two teams who are expected to blend next year when they begin their quest for a place in the women’s World Cup.
“Playing at the Stadium I think could only be fair for these ladies because come next year, they will play their home games there so I think for them to be there on Thursday is symbolic in what we want to accomplish next year,” Baker said.
The two overseas teams will arrive in Guyana tomorrow and matches will be played on the days when matches in the Kashif and Shanghai tournament are being held in an effort to gather interest from the public to female football.
