Following an absence of more than one year and subsequent exclusion from the maiden CONCACAF Gold Cup Campaign, Golden Jaguars International Colin Nelson stated that he is uncertain of his future with the National Men’s Programme.
This uncertainty was disclosed to Stabroek Sport during an exclusive interview yesterday. According to Nelson, 28, “I doubt I am looking for return to the programme. Though I feel that I have more to give to the national team but how things are going, it is turning my mind away from the programme. They have not called me back for a while, so I am not really into the national programme as much. Where I stand I am unsure but I still feel I got a lot more to give to the programme.”
The versatile Nelson is a veteran of the senior national programme with 29 caps, with his prior appearance coming against traditional rival French Guiana in the CONCACAF Nations League on November 20th 2018. He has also featured prominently for the youth programme following stints from the U16-U23 age groups.
Asked about the possible reasons surrounding his continued omission from the squad, Nelson stated that he is unsure of the local selection criteria which are being utilized to decide whether or not he is member of the roster.
He added, “I can’t say why I have been overlooked, but my local performances can certainly justify selection. Of course, the whole of Guyana can see that, my first season at the army I was a standout player and we won the National Yearend Tournament and all the other formats especially indoor, I have been one of the main players so I really don’t know I am recently overlooked.”
Questioned about his training regimen during the ongoing Covid-19 situation, Nelson, who currently plies his trade with the Guyana Defence Force (GDF), revealed, “Our training at the moment is personal so I am training on my own, this situation is affecting the entire world so yes it’s affecting me as well.”
He further said, “We have to stay safe during this period, especially for the young footballers and at this time, only two clubs basically providing financial assistance to the players are the army and Guyana Police Force (GPF).”
Probed on how important it is for experienced local players to be part of the national setup, he said “It is important as a top local player as it would give the young local players more inspiration and they will want to know the knowledge and how I am at the top.”
He further said, “It will inspire more youths to stay in the game despite the local situation being tough. A lot of youths drop out the national team because of the local situation and it’s not lucrative as it should be and players play from youth to senior and keep trying.”
