President of the Guyana Football Federation (GFF), Wayne Forde, has confirmed that the National Track and Field Centre in Edinburgh will host the League ‘B’ fixture against the Bahamas in the 2023/2024 Nations League on September 12th.
Doubt surrounded Guyana’s ability to host the encounter after the 2022/2023 League ‘B’ fixture in the Nations League with Montserrat on March 28th was shifted to the Wildey Turf Stadium, Wildey, Barbados. The match was moved to the ‘Land of the Flying Fish’ owing to the poor condition of the Edinburgh playing surface and imminent remedial work.
However, President Forde confirmed that the contest will be staged at the venue, affirming, “The venue is available to us.”
Though he conceded that the lighting apparatus at the facility continues to be a bugbear and that the match will be contested during the afternoon hours. He explained, “The lighting continues to be a challenge, and it doesn’t appear that it will be resolved before the game. The game will be played during the daytime; the fixture will reflect the time.”
Presently, the Golden Jaguars’ local contingent is in full preparatory mode at the National Training Center, Providence, under the supervision of head coach Jamaal Shabazz.
Guyana’s senior men’s football team has been drawn in Group D of League B for the upcoming campaign. 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 pools 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.
The Golden Jaguars will open their campaign on September 9th in Antigua and Barbuda. Guyana will then lock horns with Puerto Rico on October 14th before hosting the reverse fixture on October 17th. The Golden Jaguars’ final two matches will occur on November 18th and November 21st, respectively, against the Bahamas and Antigua and Barbuda.
In the 2022–2023 edition, Guyana ended up in second place with 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 the 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.
