Three senior members of the Guyana Football Federation (GFF) Technical Department have successfully completed the Concacaf `B’ license coaching course, which is currently the highest certification offered by the regional confederation.
According to a release from the Guyana Football Federation (GFF), Technical Director, Ian Greenwood, who is also the holder of a UEFA `A’ License, Assistant Technical Director, Bryan Joseph and Coaching Mentor, Linsworth Gilbert, achieved the qualification following the conclusion of the maiden class in 2021.
“The qualification, only open to coaches with a current Concacaf `C’ license qualification, empowers coaches to deliver Concacaf C license courses at the local level, which had previously required the involvement of non-domestic Concacaf coach educators,” the release stated.
According to Greenwod the course was vital to the decelopment of football in the region.
“We are delighted to be able to facilitate these essential training opportunities for our staff with the support of Concacaf as we upskill our coaches and coach educators to improve standards in our programmes and competitions,” he declared.
“The course, which is the highest level of qualification currently offered by Concacaf, is vital for the development of football across the region, and we look forward to enabling more of our coaches to graduate through the coaching education pathway in the near future,” Greenwood added.
Joseph said that he was not only overjoyed but honoured.
“I’m very honoured to have received my Concacaf B license certificate – I believe its proof of, and a fitting reward for, the hard work that I’ve put towards the development of myself as a coach and as an administrator of football,” said Greenwood.
“I’m overjoyed to know that I am among the first group of coaches that would have received the official Concacaf `B’ license certification. Now we are equipped, we are able to contribute heavily to the development of football in Guyana and to deliver Concacaf `C’ license course to our local coaches,” he added.
The recently conceptualized course is part of Concacaf’s ‘Train the Trainer’ initiative, which offers qualification at the D, C, and B Levels that are recognized within the region. To maintain the validity of the certification, coaches must undergo regular courses and assessments.
Gilbert, who also holds the portfolio of Guyana Football Coaches Association President, said he has achieved one of his personal objectives.
“Aspiring to achieve the `B’ license has been a personal and national objective for me. The GFF’s national coaching education programme has reflected ambition in the coaches across the country. The support we are now getting from the GFF is great and it shows that our football is improving both from a coaching perspective and from a player development perspective.”
He added, “It’s very important for us to continue to aspire to greater heights and to achieve higher levels of coach licenses. As a nation, being able to be involved in higher licensing programmes gives our national programme a boost, and it also gives us the confidence that we have the level of education to be able to compete not only in Concacaf, but more generally at an international level.”
GFF President Wayne Forde spoke of his federation’s commitment to investing in coaches.
“The GFF Executive Committee, under my leadership, has been steadfast in its commitment to investing in and facilitating the professionalisation and development of our coaches with the vital support of our close partners in Concacaf, FIFA, and UEFA. We still have some way to go to reach the levels of certification we would like to see across the board, but I am very pleased to say we are rapidly making up for the previous, long-term absence of a sustained coaching education strategy in Guyana, which held back the professional development of our coaches and players for decades.”
He added, “I want to commend our technical staff, under the leadership of Ian Greenwood, for overseeing this turnaround in the last few years,” Forde added. “I would also like to congratulate these three individuals for their dedication and hard work in achieving these new qualifications, which means we can now accelerate GFF-delivered coaching education up to and including the Concacaf C license. I want to encourage all budding and existing coaches to come forward and begin or continue their own development through this structured coaching programme, so that we continue to build stronger foundations for the future of football together.”
