President of the Guyana Football Federation, Wayne Forde, has ‘defended’ the Federation’s intent to persist with the Elite League amid calls for it to shelved.
Football pundits have recently criticized the League’s failure to attract local support for matches while it is also argued that it is failing to produce quality players and results.
Forde, however, while he acknowledges the League’s shortcomings, shares a different view and argues for its continuation.
“The first thing that I have to do is acknowledged that the league is a challenge and that leagues in Guyana from a National level has been a challenge,” Forde disclosed.
He further added that: “Anyone who has been following football or monitoring football over the years would know that national leagues have been changing almost every two years… we have been changing these things for many years.
“My thing is, stability is important for football and while we have these challenges, do we drop this and start something else or do we fix these challenges. If we keep reinventing ourselves, no one will take us seriously,” noting that it is also important to garner proper corporate long-term support in a relationship where both the sport and investors benefit.
The GFF boss went on to further explain that he envisages the league will reach its full potential when all the developmental dots are connected. This, he notes will take six to eight more years before a ‘real professional football produce.’
During the timeframe proposed, collaborations with other International Federations for coaching development, player exchanges and grassroots work, targeting youth and females, will be the focus to propel the sport into the professional realm by improving the quality of the game. With that approach on the cards as the Federation intensifies its developmental agenda, Forde offered another case for extending the life of the league.
“The real test will be the quality the fans are seeing, which is good quality football and that’s not going to happen with the snap of a finger. It will take a methodical investment in football overtime.
“And I’m convinced that we can get there,” adding that every cent the Federation receives from FIFA and CONCACAF goes towards the development of football.
Finally, he underscored the importance of the completion of the National Football Training Centre which will not only act as the main artery for the development of football in Guyana but also as one of the major venues for the games during next year’s edition of the Elite League and beyond.
