With the shutdown of global football due to the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic, Golden Jaguars captain Samuel Cox affirmed that the focus of everyone should be on remaining healthy during this unfortunate situation.
This was disclosed by the former Tottenham Hotspur academy alumni during an exclusive interview with Stabroek Sport.
According to Cox, who plies his trade as a right-back, “I would like to send a message out to the Guyanese people, a message of hope that everyone is in good health and looking after their friends, families and loved ones and keeping positive at this tough time. We look forward to seeing you all again once this all blows over. I am sending my love, blessings and positive energies.”
He added, “In terms of it affecting the overseas contingent (players) as of yesterday we have gone into lockdown and nobody is to leave our houses unless it’s for the various central supermarkets or chemists (pharmacies).”
Questioned on possible avenues of training that he will employ while at home to ensure his fitness base does not erode, Cox said, “Personally I am just ticking over, I have built a temporary gym in my living room and trying to stay as fit as I can, which all the players are trying to do at this tough time.”
He posited, “The main priority at the moment is health and looking after your family and loved ones and then once this is all blown over we can get cracking again and focus on the task at hand which is Barbados and which we are all looking forward to and was looking forward to prior to this unprecedented crisis.”
Asked how big of a setback will this situation have on the team’s preparation, he said, “In light of this unprecedented crisis that’s going around with regards to this virus, the status of the national team programme is in the unknown at the moment. We won’t be the only ones in the world facing the same tasks and difficulties in which we are in this current situation. Nobody knows the timescale of when this virus will last so it’s all up in the air at the moment. The best thing we can do at the moment is keep our minds, bodies and spirits ready and keep ticking over.”
The Guyana Football Federation (GFF) on March 12th, confirmed that CONCACAF has suspended all matches in the 2021 Gold Cup Playoff Qualifiers, as well as other events due to the spread of virus for the period of 30 days.
Four home and away matches were slated to be contested during the March FIFA International window. The Golden Jaguars were scheduled to battle Barbados on March 26th (away) and 31st (home) respectively.
On the other hand, the three other matchups were: Guadeloupe against St Vincent and the Grenadines, Bahamas versus French Guiana and Guatemala against Montserrat.
Among the other events that were suspended with immediate effect included the Scotiabank Champions League, Men’s Olympic Qualifiers, the Caribbean Club Shield and CONCACAF Congress – President’s Meeting.
