History was made yesterday at the Marriott Hotel when FIFA’s Conference on Development officially got underway.
Speaking to Stabroek Sport during the interval on day one of the event, Senior Project Manager of CONCACAF, Howard McIntosh, gave a general overview of what to expect as the two-day programme rolls out.
McIntosh said: “I like to put it in the context of celebrating development and celebrating Guyana,” noting the inauguration on Monday of Guyana’s first football pitch under the FIFA Forward Project, a facility which he wants to see more of in Guyana.
“Football is played at a different level now and you want to have all age groups playing as much as possible and to do that you have to have the types of pitch…In terms of development, football is really a social tool in many respects and FIFA has recognized Guyana has achieved interms of its projects, in terms of its participation in the game and its administration,” he said.
According to McIntosh, “the agreement to host the conference here speaks volumes of what [Wayne] Forde (President of the Guyana Football Federation) and his team is doing and from a CONCACAF standpoint we are very happy to see this type of conference happening.
McIntosh noted that it is always pleasing to have the leaders in the Caribbean together to discuss development, “because the core of what we do is development.”
Among the key points that will be discussed over the two days are the professional development of the game where the various topics relating to that will be conversed on along with football as a means of local development, youth empowerment through football, strategic planning, frameworks on development among others.
There is also expected to be a presentation on Development projects by Guyana and remarks from Minister of Education, Nicolette Henry on Football in Schools.
This project will look to tackle a nationwide football programme in schools across the country and on a larger scale, a plan to have FIFA partner with CARICOM for a development programme.
Welcoming the delegation of nearly 100 representatives, the President of the Guyana Football Federation (GFF), welcomed the auspicious gathering to the event as he expressed the satisfaction from the local body to be afforded the opportunity of hosting such an event.
Forde noted that this is the first of it’s kind on local shores and signals the progression of local football as he noted the recent qualification for the CONCACAF Gold Cup next month.
The GFF boss went on to reflect on the good partnership between the governments through the tourism sector which has been “exceptional.”
Meanwhile, Minister of Social Cohesion with Responsibility for Sport, Dr George Norton amplified the views of Forde and went on to relate his comfort in the decision to have Guyana host the Conference.
Norton said “as a past player and sport enthusiast and as the Minister responsible for sports, I am most pleased with the decision to host the Conference on development here in Guyana…Over the years, we have seen much progress here in Guyana with the assistance of FIFA and the dedication of local bodies and players… FIFA’s decision to host the conference on these shores is a clear indication of its confidence in this land of many waters.”
