Behind the scenes, he pulls the strings from a distance that helped make the Golden Jaguars strike “El Dorado” in the CONCACAF World Cup football qualifying competition.
Off the field, Colin Baker is the low profile administrator whose work with the overseas- based Jaguars laid the foundation for the team’s successful run through the first round group qualifiers, into the CONCACAF semis for the first time.
From his base in Florida, USA, Baker is one of the foreign- based officials whose contribution helped make English professionals Ricky Shakes, Carl Cort, Leon Cort, Chris Nurse, Chris Bourne and Jake Newton among others – players all born in England with faint links to Guyana – part of the Jaguars setup.
He successfully took on the responsibility of processing the players’ eligibility to represent Guyana and negotiates their release from the clubs that pays their wages in England and beyond. Not to mention the less tedious task of arranging flights for the English, North American and Trinidad and Tobago-based pros, to and from the four countries where the Jags played their six first round games.
It went almost unnoticed that the Jaguars two-month campaign was completed without a hitch as all the overseas pros were available on time for the six matches and none emerged with furrowed brows of dissatisfaction – unusual by Guyana’s standards in the past dealings with expatriate players.
And although Baker is on the threshold of making another major breakthrough for the Golden Jaguars and Guyana’s football in a different but related area, he prefers to talk about the pleasure he is experiencing with the team’s successful march so far, towards the 2014 World Cup Finals in Brazil.
“It is a combination of myself and others doing some nice things for Guyana’s football,” he states.
With a world ranking of 91, Guyana on paper would seem easy pushovers for 21 ranked Mexico, Costa Rica at 65 and Honduras at 69 – the teams they face in the CONCACAF semis.
But Baker vehemently disagrees and is adamant the Jaguars will perform otherwise.
“ We have several things going for us – including committed players and the element of surprise, and anything can happen”, he declares. “ Come June 8, everyone could be in a for something special”. On that date Guyana opens its campaign against Mexico at the notorious high altitude Azteca Stadium, but the Miami-based official is happy the CONCACAF number one team is atop the Jaguars list, because he sees a lengthy preparation period for them.
Currently President of the Miami-based Guyana Sports Development Foundation (GSDF), Baker is loosely described as a Guyana Football Federation (GFF) programme director for the Lady Jaguars – the national women’s team
Such was the instant success of that team which reached the CONCACAF women’s Gold Cup at its first attempt – Baker found himself performing similar duties and more with the men’s squad.
Charged with the responsibility of identifying players in the Diaspora, the foundation – a non-profit organisation, spearheaded by Baker, has exceeded “ going the extra mile” several times over.
In reality the GSDF president could be best described as the Golden Jaguars’ `de facto’ general manager as his influence helped keep the pros satisfied, playing for the Jaguars in football conditions that can be described as a different world compared to their accustomed sophisticated environment, in the world’s biggest professional leagues in England.
At the end of a successful first round, the pros are happy to represent Guyana for virtually nothing except the pride of playing for a country in World Cup preliminary competition.
Taking into consideration injury risk factor, which could jeopardize their professional careers, it requires a special skill to win the pros’ commitment.
Even seasoned Trinidad and Tobago who were eliminated at the Jaguars’ hands, were unable to secure their Premier League stars Kenwyn Jones and Carlos Edwards for their full campaign.
“What we are seeing today did not occur overnight, this is the result of years of work that started with the Jaguars success at the 2006 Digicel Cup, ” Baker relates . At that time he was a founding member of the Guyana World Cup Committee, formed at the behest of the Guyana Football Federation (GFF).
Processing the eligibility of Shakes, the most prominent of the overseas pros, was a deal, given that the England –born player had previously represented Trinidad and Tobago and had a somewhat complicated situation.
FIFA rules allow a player to represent a country through paternal and maternal origin from the said nation.
And with Guyana’s improving world ranking and about to feature in the world limelight in Mexico and possibly beyond, the Linden town- born Baker and company can expect a deluge of requests from other overseas-based pros to join the Jaguars.
Baker even had a hand in the reclaiming of team coach Jamal Shabazz for a second stint and is confident the Trinidadian will be with the team the rest of the way, following his recall from a loan agreement by the Trinidad and Tobago federation.
The Guyana-born administrator feels that Shabazz is a great technical and inspirational coach who has done a great job in taking the home-based squad players standard to the next level.
It is that type of platform the Guyana Sports Development Foundation hopes to build with its Scotia Bank/Pepsi schools football training programme in Guyana that has gone almost unnoticed.
The programme produced seven members of the Guyana Under-17 girls team which reached the second round of the Caribbean playoffs recently.
And If the success of female Jaguars is an indication, the male version could be on track for more firsts on the bigger CONCACAF stage next year, with Baker continuing to lay the foundation from afar.
