Chairman of the Guyana Football Federation (GFF) Normalization Committee Clinton Urling said that they have not yet decided who will be the coach of the national U-23 programme for the impending 2018 Olympic Qualifiers.
Asked to comment on who will be at the helm of the side and when preparation will commence, the FIFA appointed chairman said: “The Normalization Committee has not discussed in any detail any of the issues or questions you have raised.”
Questioned if newly-appointed senior head-coach Jamaal Shabazz would be the front runner for the post and what will be the criteria for team selection, he said: “The Technical Director of the GFF and the other members of the Technical Department will make those determination as we move forward and recommend to the Normalization Committee.”
According to unconfirmed information received from sources within the federation, recently demoted Golden Jaguars Head-Coach Denzil Thompson is the incumbent U-23 national coach. Attempts to acquire a comment from Thompson proved futile.
The sources further claimed that Thompson prior to his promotion to the top post of the senior national programme last year by then GFF President Christopher Matthias, was appointed previously to oversee the younger national setup for this year’s Olympic Qualifiers.
Under the Guyana Defence Force trainer, a new look Golden Jaguars unit featuring mostly local players making their senior debut, failed to qualify out of the group stage of their Caribbean Cup campaign, securing two losses and one draw in their three group fixtures.
The sources further disclosed that the newly appointed senior head-coach is one of the main candidates being considered for the position due to his recent selection, sporting qualifications and overall record with the national senior programme.
Shabazz who was at the helm of the national setup on two previous occasions, created history when he oversaw the local unit’s record setting FIFA World Cup 2014 campaign in his previous stint.
Under the stewardship of the Trinidadian, Guyana qualified for the CONCACAF semi-finals of World Cup qualifying for the first time in their history as well as achieved their best ever FIFA ranking of 86th during the month of November 2010. Guyana’s current ranking is 167th.
According to the information, Alpha United tactician and assistant senior coach Wayne Dover is also being considered as an outside candidate for the job.
Guyana will make their return to international football when they faceoff with Barbados in the opening leg of a home and away series on Sunday February 1st in the Land of the Flying Fish. The return leg is slated to be
announced by the committee in the future.
