Just days after the announcement of the Caribbean Football Union (CFU) 2016 Caribbean Cup draw, Guyana Football Federation Chief Wayne Forde said the Golden Jaguars will face off with arch-rivals Suriname in an international friendly.
In an exclusive interview with Stabroek Sports, Forde noted “The priority is to get the programme up and running and we want to start with the first international friendly with Suriname on February 7th in Guyana”.
According to Forde “I will be meeting with the Surinamese Football President to finalize the arrangement and to open up new conversations regarding the restart of the Inter-Guianas Cup which could see other countries joining in”.
Quizzed on if the overseas-based players will be available for the Surinamese encounter, Forde noted “For the first international friendly time will not permit us but for the CFU we definitely want them. Qualifying to next round and for the other tourneys like the Gold Cup, we need to get the best team and we are open to the foreign players”.
“Now that we have a strong elite league, the players will have to step up but we want to put the best Guyanese team into the CFU tourney”, he added.
Questioned if funding will be an issue to acquire the services of the foreign players for the CFU event, Forde said “It’s going to be challenging and we will try to get funding and other sponsorship”.
However Forde noted “How do we get serious about the sport and don’t want to incur the expense. We can’t see it as just an expense but as an investment and we want to put the best team out there”, he added.
According to Forde, the possibility exists that Guyana could host the finals of the CFU tournament noting “We will be writing to host the CFU finals here for the first time and we will be meeting with Government to propose and discuss the possibility”.
Asked if any other international matches will occur prior to the commencement of the Caribbean Cup campaign, Forde noted “Finances and logistics will dictate that”.
The Golden Jaguars were drawn in Group-5 of the 2016/17 CFU Caribbean Cup tournament which is slated to kick off during the period of March-21st-29th. The other members of the group are Puerto Rico and Anguilla.
The likes of Haiti, St. Vincent and the Grenadines and Trinidad and Tobago will not participate during the opening period due to their ongoing 2018 FIFA World Cup Qualifiers.
Round two of the event is slated to commence during the month of May, with the third round scheduled to begin in October. The 5th Place playoff will take place in the month of November while the grand finale will occur in May of 2017.
The top four teams during the conclusion of the event will qualify for the 2017 CONCACAF Gold Cup. Guyana’s last international fixture came against St. Vincent and the Grenadines during the failed 2018 FIFA World Cup Qualifying Campaign in June of 2016.
The 2014 edition of the event witnessed Guyana making a first round exit, losing twice and securing one draw in their matches with an inexperienced side featuring predominantly local players who were making their debuts.
