Guyana Football Federation (GFF) President Wayne Forde, said that the entity is ready to resume football activities in a safe manner once approval is granted owing to the technical support from the ‘Bounceback’ partnership between confederations UEFA and Concacaf.
Speaking to the media yesterday during a virtual press conference, Forde said, “The support and expert guidance of the UEFA Assist team, and Concacaf, during this crucial phase of planning has been invaluable as we prepare to navigate the next steps towards the careful resumption of football. This programme has enabled us to accelerate our preparations with confidence and to strengthen our administration and management capabilities in order to ensure that our community feels safe and confident to return to the field of play.”
Present at the virtual forum were Eva Pasquier, UEFA Head of International Relations, Howard McIntosh, Senior Projects Manager at Concacaf, and UEFA consultant and former Scottish Football Association CEO Stewart Regan.
Through the ‘Bounceback’ initiative, European football administration experts work with partner associations around the world to develop an action plan for the safe resumption of football. Within the programme, the GFF has established a COVID-19 Task Force to supervise the safe return of football when conditions and permissions allow.
The GFF has sought the approval of the National COVID-19 Task Force for the start of national team training. This step that is seen as crucial in order to give the Golden Jaguars enough time to prepare for their historic return to the Concacaf Gold Cup next year. Meanwhile, Pasquier said, “The President and leadership team at the GFF have put a huge amount of work into the UEFA Assist Bounceback initiative and we are delighted to see the quality of their action plan. It is very rewarding to see their determination to recover from the impact of the coronavirus pandemic and we will be by their side on their journey.”
Likewise, McIntosh said, “Concacaf is fully committed to supporting its member associations through a variety of capacity-building initiatives. We have teamed-up with UEFA Assist to deliver a structured programme called Bounceback to help the GFF recover from the impact of COVID-19.”
He further said, “We are very impressed with their work ethic, and their leadership, through their President, Wayne Forde, will be a key contributory factor in their progress during 2021 and beyond. We wish them every success.”
The GFF is only the second member association within the region of Concacaf after Mexico, to be selected for the UEFA Assist progranme.
