The Guyana Football Federation (GFF) has received an additional US $500,000 to assist with the completion of the much anticipated Goal Project at Orangestein, on the East Bank of Essequibo.
That disclosure was made by Franklin Wilson, Acting President of the GFF at a press conference yesterday at the federation’s office.
Wilson travelled to Zurich last week for a meeting with the FIFA Development Committee on the 18th. The grant, Wilson said, falls under the less privileged initiative to assist with continued development.
“As you know when I started acting the goal project was something I did say we will zoom in on with a view of getting it up and running and of course completed. We were actually last week going towards retendering for the goal project but that will not have to be re-altered so I guess in another week or so we are going to do the ad which will invite persons to tender for works at the goal project site at Oragnestein, on the East Bank of Essequibo.”
Wilson said from the initial US$400,000 allocated for the goal project, approximately US $270,000 is remaining.
“Of course that will be merged with the $500,000 based upon discussions we had with FIFA in Zurich. Now as you know we are unfortunate or fortunate to have two weather patterns: rain and sun, so the fact that the field we were doing at the goal project is just one we had some discussions with the FIFA development department and it was agreed that we will be putting in an artificial turf rather than natural turf at the goal project.
“We would have applied as well on the 7th of February also and received information from the FIFA Development Officer with responsibility for Guyana Mr. Howard Macintosh, a Jamaican to apply for special projects under the special projects heading, we did apply for two projects one that will be done in Linden and one on the East Coast of Demerara. But what is happening at the moment while those projects will still be reality FIFA has encouraged us to focus on completing one first. So that we will focus energies for now on the restart and completing of the goal project and there after we will pursue the projects in Linden and on the East Coast of Demerara,” Wilson said.
Guyana in 2007 under suspended president Colin Klass began clearing the Orangestein location but little has since been done in the six years.
