With the Covid-19 pandemic showing no signs of abating and affecting the preparation of the local national footballers, former Golden Jaguars captain Christopher Nurse is calling for a professional or semi-professional league assist the development of the players.
According to Nurse, 36, in an exclusive interview with Stabroek Sport yesterday, the national team is not the right platform as the local contingent has been hampered by the current health crisis ahead of the Golden Jaguars Concacaf Gold Cup Qualifiers next year.
Nurse said that what is required and more important for the players’ development than selection for national honours, is the creation of professional structures.
“The national team is not the solution for the local players right now. They need a domestic platform where they can dream of making a living from football. The best professional players should be selected to represent the country. We need to create professional players in Guyana.”
Guyana’s attempt to earn a second appearance at the confederation’s flagship tournament will go through Guatemala following Concacaf’s maiden draw recently which was conducted virtually in Miami. The Guyanese are ranked 166th internationally while their opponents, the 1967 Concacaf Championship Victor, is ranked 130th.
If successful against the Guatemalans, the Guyanese will oppose the winner of Guadeloupe and The Bahamas encounter in the second qualifier. The victor of the second qualifier will progress to Group-C. The preliminary round, which will be contested utilizing a direct elimination format, will be staged from July 2nd-6th in a centralized location in the United States.
Nurse opined that a plan and structure for professional football locally needs to be envisioned and implemented.
“Professionals is the key word I want to elaborate on here. Guyana has overseas-based professionals. However, we need to embark on a project that can also create a domestic plan to create professional footballers right at home in Guyana. Guyana needs a return and more of the once prominent Alpha and Slingerz that provided a wage for players that allowed players to contribute to making a living from the game. The dream of professionalism must start at home, and from here we can aspire to the next level of professionalism in Europe and the Americas. But in the absence of this platform, we are the facilitators of the game and at the same time dream killers for many of our young players locally in Guyana.”
He added that Guyana needs to re-evaluate and redefine what can be considered success, pointing out that the country has struggled immensely to create and develop professional players capable of acquiring professional contracts overseas.
“Again, correct me if I am wrong, who was the last local born professional player that we have developed? I believe Trayon Bobb is the last local born player who obtained a professional contract as a player in the 2013/2014 season. In the last seven years we have not produced another player locally who has gone on to play professionally overseas. We need to refocus and redefine what we view as success in football.”
