Despite the fact that they have progressed to the knockout out round of the Caribbean Football Union (CFU) Club Championship, President of the Alpha United team Odinga Lumumba is of the view that their work has only now begun.
Alpha United, Guyana’s top team, created history on Sunday when they became this country’s first team to qualify for the third stage of the championship which is also one step closer to qualifying for the CONCACAF Champions League.
The team contested two, round two matches against River Plate of Puerto Rico in Guyana over the weekend.
They drew the first 0-0 at the Providence National Stadium and then defeated River Plate 3 – 2 in the second match at the Georgetown Cricket Club ground.
The second match was initially supposed to be an away fixture for them but the River Plate management agreed to play both ties here.
According to Lumumba, the factor which is of much concern on their journey is the financial aspect.
He stated that it will cost roughly $12m to prepare for the next round of the tournament inclusive of the coaches and technical staff fees and players’ stipends among other things.
Lumumba stated that they have been holding up good thus far and this would not be possible without a good support group that includes a lot of companies who have invested into the team because they know what they are capable of.
“This is why every win is encouraging because when we see this it means that our objective is not lost and fruit has been borne,” he told Stabroek Sport.
“We have proven that we are the best time after time and I think it is time corporate Guyana see and invest in what we are heading towards. This is entirely up to them, we are not begging, we are doing this for Guyana so it is up to them if they have no national integrity,” he added.
Lumumba is resisting the urge to splurge on foreign based players.
“We are going to be playing strong clubs throughout the championship and we need to be equally prepared so we have to use the best that we have, but it’s always cheaper to use the locally based players than the foreign based players.
“However, drawing close to the knockout round their will be an opening to get some foreign based players in,” Lumumba disclosed.
The club has requested the opportunity to host the knockout round of the tournament at home in Guyana.
It will be a round robin stage where the four teams will play each other once to see who advances.
