With the Golden Jaguars penciled to depart local shores on August 3rd to compete at the CONCACAF U15 Boy’s Championships, Guyana Football Federation (GFF) President Wayne Forde visited the team during their encampment yesterday at the National Training Centre, Providence.
This was disclosed by an official release from the federation.
President Forde said, “It is [a] coveted privilege and honour to represent our golden arrow head on the international stage. Embrace the weight of this huge responsibility as a duty to your country, your family, your community and most importantly – yourselves. All of Guyana is with you on this mission to win our group and qualify for the championship round of the tournament. We wish you a safe journey and best of luck in the tournament.”
Also visiting the team was Golden Jaguars senior internationals Akel Clarke and Curtez Kellman. The Golden Jaguars U15 Boy’s squad has been drawn in group F of the impending championship which is penciled to commence on August 5th in Willemstad, Curaçao.
The team which has been whittled down to 22 players, will face-off against Barbados, Guadeloupe, and St. Lucia. The Guyanese will open their campaign against the Barbadians on August 6th, before battling Guadeloupe a day later. They will end their group stage campaign on August 8th. All three matches will be staged at the Ergilio Hato Stadium. The winner of the group will progress to the elimination stage.
The 2023 edition of the tournament which will feature the participation of 42 nations [40 CONCACAF and 2 Asian Football Confederation countries], will be staged in Curaçao and the Dominican Republic from August 6th-13th. The event will be contested in a three tier league format, which will comprise initial group stage play followed by an elimination section.
League A comprises the 16 highest ranked teams. They are: Canada, Costa Rica, Cuba, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, Jamaica, Mexico, Panama, Puerto Rico, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Trinidad and Tobago, and the United States.
Meanwhile, League B features 16 sides and comprises Antigua and Barbuda, Aruba, Barbados, Belize, Bermuda, Bonaire, Cayman Islands, Curaçao, Grenada, Guadeloupe, Guyana, Martinique, Nicaragua, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, and Suriname.
On the other hand, League C contains the lowest ranked nations. They are: Anguilla, British Virgin Islands, Dominica, French Guiana, Montserrat, Saint Martin, Saint Vincent and Grenadines, Sint Maarten, Turks & Caicos Islands, and US Virgin Islands.
All League A matches will be staged in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, whilst Willemstad, Curaçao, serve as the host for Leagues B and C.
