GFF putting structures in place for resumption of national team training

Guyana’s national football team the Golden Jaguars will soon resume training ahead of international football resumption in the Caribbean.
Guyana’s national football team the Golden Jaguars will soon resume training ahead of international football resumption in the Caribbean.

With the Golden Jaguars set to return to the international circuit in October for the 2022 FIFA World Cup Qualifiers, the Guyana Football Federation (GFF), is in the process of creating structures for the resumption of national team training.

This was disclosed by a source close to the federation, who spoke on the condition of anonymity.

“The GFF is working on a system to resume training of the entire team in groups of five. That is the plan to resume the training in smaller groups because Barbados and Trinidad and Tobago have already resumed training. Guyana was initially to play Barbados and possibly Trinidad and Tobago in September but that was rescheduled to next year in the Gold Cup preliminary round,” the source disclosed.

“It’s not entirely certain of the exact date as to when they will resume but they are in discussions at the moment. They have  held several meetings to discuss this and held another meeting recently to discuss the possibility of resuming senior national team training.”

Already some of the players have resumed training.

“Some members of the national team have actually resumed training; they are the goalkeepers who are under the guidance of the national goalkeeping coach. The goal keepers train from Mondays to Thursdays, rest Fridays and resume training on Saturdays. Sunday is also a rest day. At the moment there are some persons that do use the Providence facility, inclusive of the GFF President who plays football with individuals on a Wednesday and a Sunday,” the source said.

The Golden Jaguars will commence their 2022 FIFA World Cup Qualifiers during the October section of the International Friendly Window. A new format will be utilized by the confederation and will comprise three rounds and include all member associations.

The first section will feature 30 teams ranked from 6-35 based on the July 12th 2020 FIFA rankings. Guyana is ranked 19th. The teams will be divided into six groups of five, and will play four games each during the October and November International Windows. The respective group winners will progress to the second round of the event. The second round will feature the respective group winners battling in home and away series during the March 2021 match window, with the three resulting victors progressing to the final round which will consist of eight teams, five of whom are ranked 1-5 on the CONCACAF standings. Upon the conclusion of the final round, the top three teams will qualify for the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar. The fourth placed finisher will contest the Confederation Playoff.

Similarly, the Golden Jaguars will also begin their second campaign in League-B of the CONCACAF Nations League in June 2022 during the 2022/2023 cycle. This was disclosed by regional confederation CONCACAF following an official release. According to the correspondence, the regional has established that the second edition of the competition will commence in 2022, with the grand finale slated for March 2023.

Guyana in the inaugural edition of the event, the 2019/2020 season, finished second in group-C of the League-B section. The Golden Jaguars ended with a record of three wins, two losses and a draw to conclude their campaign on 10 points, six points behind group winner and Caribbean powerhouse Jamaica.