Guyana Football Federation (GFF) President Wayne Forde pronounced yesterday that the installation process for the FIFA-approved lighting apparatus at the National Training Centre, Providence, is scheduled to be completed and commissioned in early December.
This was disclosed in an official release from the federation. According to the correspondence, President Forde and 2nd Vice President Rawlston Adams conducted a site visit at the East Bank Demerara facility to witness the arrival of the four lightning towers that will be installed.
Forde said, “We are providing as much support as we can from the Federation’s standpoint to the contracting team to do everything possible to ensure that they are able to meet the timelines. He further added, “Our intention, with the support of FIFA and Concacaf, is to make the National Training Centre suitable for international football. We are hoping in 2024 that all of our home matches can be played here.”
The US$1.1 million floodlight installation project is being sponsored through the FIFA FORWARD program, which was launched back in 2016 by FIFA President Gianni Infantino during his visit to Guyana. The project is being undertaken by the United States-based company Musco Sport Lighting, following a tender process.
The lighting specialist company, which has completed similar projects in Guyana, was the successful bidder in the FIFA centralized international procurement process. They will engineer, manufacture, and install a four-pole energy-efficient floodlighting structure designed to produce the appropriate lighting quality and standards for international matches and withstand a wind speed of 85 mph.
According to Forde, “With some remedial work we are doing on the pitch right now, FIFA will recertify the pitch so that we will have the green light to host international matches here. So there’s a lot of emphasis being placed on bringing this venue up to a certain level because we want to make sure that our players have the opportunity to play before their fans, and that has been a challenge in recent years. A lot of work is being done here, and the push will be intense within the next couple of months.”
Forde further disclosed that the GFF, with assistance from FIFA and CONCACAF, will commence the construction of a seating apparatus on the western and southern sides of the venue, adding that the conversion of identified rooms to dressing rooms will also be undertaken.
Meanwhile, 2nd Vice President Adams said, “The contractor has made the best of the initial weather that he has.
He has put in temporary access, so that will give him access to the actual location where the piles are going to be driven for the lights. All the civil works we are expecting to be completed before the weather changes.”
The GFF National Training Centre, which is Guyana’s first exclusive football facility, is funded through the FIFA Forward Programme. The facility has an all-weather regulation-sized artificial grass pitch, dorms for youth teams, along with other facilities, and is classified as the official home of football in Guyana.
