The Guyana Football Federation (GFF) Access Grassroots Programme successfully conducted its inaugural on-field session Sunday at the St. Pius Ground in Georgetown, with approximately 65 participants featured in the training seminar.
This was disclosed via a press release from the federation. According to the correspondence, the programme was administered by Gordon `Ultimate Warrior’ Braithwaite, Dennis Hunte, Vibert Butts, Colin Tasher, Lloyd Smith, and Troy Wright and featured participants from the West La Penitence environment and neighbouring communities.
The quintet was part of an initial training workshop which was supervised by GFF Technical Director Bryan Joseph, Coaches Education Officer Lyndon France and Coach Mentor Linsworth Gilbert. The forum provided the requisite knowledge of grassroots development, which was subsequently applied at the St. Pius venue.
“The Access Grassroots Programme is a new addition to the current national youth development initiatives, aimed at encouraging greater participation in football among boys and girls aged five to twelve, with special emphasis on inner city communities to ensure maximum participation”, the release stated.
GFF President Wayne Forde said, “We had a massive turnout of children from the age of five all the way up to 15-years-old. We had all the coaches working in their groups and I believe it was a really good afternoon for the young boys and girls who came out today. I would have to say it’s probably the best day one could have expected for this programme.”
He said, “The Georgetown leg will be the pilot; we are going to be monitoring it, evaluating it, and really measuring the impact, but I know we have to roll this out as quickly as possible to other parts of the country.”
Funding for the programme was done via the Member Assistance Financial Programme (M-FAP).
“An important feature of the Access Grassroots Programme is the mobility of coaches who will travel between different venues to provide training in essential skills to future football stars.
The current grassroots initiatives of the GFF are funded through M-FAP and consist of a diverse range of programmes, including the establishment of nine regional Academy Training Centres (ATC), the implementation of year-round grassroots programmes by regional associations, and support for various football clubs”, the release stated.
