Head coach of the Guyana Beach Football team Abdulla Hamid said that preparation for the Confederation of North, Central American and Caribbean Association Football (CONCACAF) Beach Soccer championships in The Bahamas is progressing excellently and that the first objective is to qualify for the elimination stages.
Drawn in group-A along with the host nation, Jamaica and Belize, the locals will open their campaign against The Bahamas on February 20th at the Malcom Beach Soccer Facility.
They then battle Jamaica and Belize on February 21st and 22nd respectively.
The team is expected to depart local shores shortly for Barbados where they will participate in several practice matches before heading for The Bahamas on February 17th.
“It (preparation) has been coming good. We have been training since August 2015. We had a Brazilian instructor for a month which came through the GFF (Guyana Football Federation) and Beach Football Association. It was very good, he played for Brazil and won World cups and they learnt a lot,” Hamid told Stabroek Sports in an exclusive interview.
“Our aim is to qualify and get to the next round. That would put Guyana on the world stage in CONCACAF and show that beach football can be developed in the country and be able to access resources similar to the field version,” he added.
“It was a great draw to be in the same group with Jamaica, (The) Bahamas and Belize so the expectation is great. Our chances are good to qualify, we play Bahamas and then set the tone for Jamaica. The only team we don’t know much about is Belize who is new to beach football,” he said.
“My expectation is great, we played against Jamaica two years ago in Trinidad and Tobago and their players remain the same. We lost that match 4-3. With Bahamas, I was fortunate to be at the official draw and saw some of their players and have been watching video of some their games,” Hamid added.
Asked about the criteria used to select the team Hamid said: “We had a league featuring teams from all over Guyana, four from Georgetown, one from Kuru-Kururu and the rest from Linden. Based on that we selected 35 players to train with the Brazilian instructor. Him and myself then selected 25 players for national training.
“The final roster was eventually whittled down to 12 players. They are (Defenders) Jermaine Grandison, Tony Gilbert, Rodwyn Fraser, Trevorn Archibald, (Midfielders) Deshawn Joseph, Michael Wilson, Jahshaun Moore, (Forwards) Keon Sears, Cordell Johnson, Jamol Haynes and (Goalkeepers) Ethan Sparman and Kellon Major,” Hamid said.
The assistant coach is Dillon Roberts.
“I am very pleased with the performance of the players and how they have been going through their paces. They are ready to compete,” Hamid revealed.
The winner and runners-up will join World Cup hosts The Bahamas as the representatives of CONCACAF at the 2017 FIFA Beach World Cup. In the event that The Bahamas and non-FIFA member Guadeloupe emerge as the finalists of the tournament, the World Cup berths will be assigned to the next best placed finishers.
