A total of 12 locally based players have been selected by the coaching staff as part of the final 18 member Golden Jaguars senior men’s roster that will face-off against Ethiopia on August 5th in an international friendly at the Segra Field in Leesburg, Virginia, United States.
This was disclosed by a source close to the federation who spoke on the condition of anonymity. According to the source, eight of the 12 players featured in the recently concluded KFC Elite League which was won by the Guyana Defence Force (GDF).
The 12 locally based players are: Akel Clarke [Slingerz], Raushan Rich [Western Tigers], Curtez Kellman [Western Tigers], Jeremy Garrett [Slingerz], Marcus Wilson [Western Tigers], Daniel Wilson [Western Tigers], Darren Niles [Santos], Ryan Hackett [GDF], Kelsey Benjamin [GDF], Nicholas MacArthur [Guyana Police Force], Jamal Perreira [Slingerz], and Leo Lovell [Slingerz].
The team is penciled to depart local shores on Sunday and will be coached by assistant Wayne Dover, as current tactician Jamaal Shabazz is unable to travel. The six overseas based players are yet to be confirmed, and this is because it’s not an official international window, so the clubs are not obligated to release players for national duties. The Golden Jaguars senior men’s football team was scheduled to play Ethiopia on July 8th at Sabaru Park in Philadelphia, United States of America. The fixture was subsequently rescheduled. Ethiopia, which is currently ranked 143rd, won the African Cup of Nations in 1962. Guyana is presently seeded 169th.
The match is expected to form part of the team’s preparation for the 2023/2024 CONCACAF Nations League campaign. Guyana has been drawn in group D of League B for the upcoming championship. The Guyanese have been paired with Antigua and Barbuda, Puerto Rico and The Bahamas. Each team will play six matches [three away and three at home], with the resulting group winner gaining promotion to League A. The cellar occupant will be relegated to League C.
The other groups are Group A: Guadeloupe, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, and Sint Maarten; Group B: Trinidad and Tobago, Dominican Republic, Montserrat, and Barbados; and Group C: French Guiana, Bermuda, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, and Belize.
In the 2022/2023 edition, Guyana ended in second place on 10 points. In the inaugural 2019/2020 edition, Guyana finished in the runner-up spot in league B with nine points. According to Concacaf, a format change was implemented for the 2023/2024 edition which resulted in no relegation of teams following the end of the 2022/2023 season. League A has been increased from 12 to 16 teams and will feature a quarterfinal section. The 12 lowest ranked teams in League A will feature in a group stage comprising two pools of six, with the resulting group winner and runner-up advancing to the elimination section alongside USA, Mexico, Canada and Costa Rica. The quarterfinal fixtures will utilize a home and away format. The fifth and sixth placed teams at the end of the group stage in League A will be relegated.
Meanwhile, League C has been reduced from 12 to nine teams. The competing nations will be divided into three groups of three, with the resulting group winners and the best second placed team in the division advancing to League B.
