The Golden Jaguars programme, which is currently in preparation for the resumption of the 2022/2023 Concacaf Nations League, is once again only afforded a minimum travelling allowance by the Guyana Football Federation (GFF) to aid in their attendance at the sessions being held at the National Training Centre at Providence, East Bank Demerara.
This was confirmed by a source close to the programme who spoke on the condition of anonymity. According to the source, “The players only receive passage from the GFF, and that is only one-way passage. The players receive the money at the end of the training session. Basically, the money is to return home, they don’t receive any money to arrive at the venue and don’t receive money for anything else.”
The source further disclosed, “The players have to find their way to training each time which is five days a week. The amount that the players received during the World Cup Qualifiers has not changed. This is not right and simply doesn’t look good. How can you give players $400, and $500 to train? Unfortunately if players don’t have money to arrive at the venue then they can’t train. It’s as simple as that.”
The national team currently trains on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Saturday respectively, ahead of the resumption of League ‘B’ of the tournament.
The GFF, during the team’s preparation for 2022 FIFA World Cup Qualifiers, had initially confirmed that local players received reimbursement for transportation to training sessions [at the National Training Centre at Providence] during the preparation phase for the opening two FIFA World Cup Qualifiers.
They confirmed that Georgetown players received $300 per session, while those from the East Coast Demerara and West Demerara received $400 apiece. Players hailing from Linden and Berbice were reimbursed the sum of $3,000.
The sum was subsequently increased by a meagre $100 for the Georgetown, East Coast, and West Demerara players, who were given $400, $500 and $500 respectively. The amount for players dwelling in the areas of Berbice and Linden remained the same.
General Secretary of the GFF Ian Alves was quoted as saying, “I don’t know if that is so, I don’t know anything about that.”
Guyana is scheduled to face off against Bermuda on March 24. Meanwhile, the clash between Guyana and Montserrat, which was slated for the National Track and Field Centre in Leonora, West Coast Demerara, on March 28, has now been shifted to the Wildey Turf Stadium, Wildey, Barbados, due to a poor playing surface at the Region Three facility.
The Golden Jaguars currently sit second in the group with six points, trailing leaders Haiti by four points. Bermuda sits on four points whilst Montserrat occupies the cellar position on three points. Guyana must win both of their matches to stand a chance of qualifying for the 2023 Gold Cup.
