Chairman of the Guyana Football Federation (GFF) Normalization Committee Clinton Urling said the best available players will feature at the international level for the Golden Jaguars irrespective of their country of birth.
In a brief comment with Stabroek Sports, the FIFA appointed chairman said “The best players will represent Guyana on all our national teams. I see no distinction between players living in and outside of Guyana or born here or overseas, they are all Guyanese and that’s how they will be treated.
“There is nothing unique or exclusive about this to Guyana, every other country is utilizing what is legally permissible by FIFA and the local immigration laws of their respective countries.
“Moreover, at the end of the day who ever makes the team represents Guyana as a cohesive Guyana Golden Jaguars unit” he added.
Asked if too much emphasis is being placed on the senior programme irrespective if it’s a FIFA World Cup qualifying year, he said: “We have said that development (grassroots, youth, women, coaches and referees) and infrastructure are our primary priority and that remains to be so.”
According to the Urling the senior national team’s programme is important to the overall development of the game.
“The senior national programme is also important to the overall setup and will receive the full support of the GFF now and in the future. When we work to develop at the ground level that is done with an eye to producing the best national teams possible.”
Since the commissioning of the Normalization Committee, the Golden Jaguars have contested three international friendlies under the stewardship of head coach Jamaal Shabazz. Guyana, in their first fixture drew with Caribbean Football Union (CFU) rival Barbados 2-2 in Barbados.
They would then secure 2-0 wins over St. Lucia and Grenada on local soil to maintain their unbeaten record under the Trinidadian in his third coming. The Golden Jaguars is scheduled to faceoff with Suriname in the fourth assignment on April 30th in the Dutch nation.
