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guyanatimesGY.com
wednesday, august 26, 2015
Fruta Conquerors gearing Heart of Oak “Teach Them Young” Football Camp ends up for Elite League – Club President hails concept to professionalise local football
May 12, 2015. A total of 11 applications were received.
By Avenash Ramzan
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he Guyana Football Federation (GFF) inaugural Stag Beer Elite League is set for a September kick-off, and one of the eight clubs that have qualified to compete in the eight-month League is eagerly looking forward to what beckons for Guyana’s football. Fruta Conquerors, one of the country’s most successful clubs, both on and off the field, is among the top local clubs that have been guaranteed a place in the firstever League, which is set to transform Guyana’s football landscape. The other clubs are Alpha United, Guyana
Fruta Conquerors president Wayne Forde
thing”. In terms of his team’s prospects in the League, Forde said his boys have the potential to “spring a few surprises” although
According to the GFF, as per CONCACAF guidelines, a First Instance Decision Making Body was established to review and pronounce on these applications. It was agreed that no Normalisation Committee Members of the GFF would sit on this body. Following the review process, all 11 applications were approved for Elite Club Licence. The Competitions Committee of the GFF then met with the view of choosing eight of the 11 clubs to participate in the soon-to-be launched Elite League. The selection process was guided by four criteria that
In years to come, those aspiring footballers of the Fruta Conquerors annual academy could potentially benefit from the Elite League
Defence Force, Slingerz FC, Pele, Georgetown Football Club, Buxton United and Monedderlust FC. Fruta Conquerors Football Club (FCFC) President Wayne Forde, in an exclusive interview with this publication on Tuesday, hailed the move by the GFF’s Normalisation Committee to focus its attention on professionalising the game here. Forde described the League as “a very timely item on Guyana’s football programme”, noting that for too long the country has been aligned with football at an amateur level. “It [the League] is what Guyana’s football needed,” Forde declared. The FCFC head added “if we’re serious about moving forward, we have to embrace initiatives like these. It is a good
they didn’t get some of the desired players during the transfer window. He said the Tucvillebased club will focus on exposing some of its younger players, the majority of whom are currently in training under the watchful eyes of FCFC Head Coach Calvin Allen. “The Club has remained active even in this period of dormancy. We’ve been playing a few friendlies so we’re getting ready for the League,” Forde said.
League’s genesis
In keeping with the new mandate issued by CONCACAF, the GFF earlier this year invited applications for Elite Club Licences from all member associations to be submitted by
were established long before applications were received. These criteria were (1) Elite League Licence (which all 11 clubs satisfied); (2) Budget and Financial standing; (3) Competitive results over a three-5fiveyear period; and (4) Geographic proximity of the club. Following a thorough review based on the criteria outlined, the following eight clubs were invited to participate in the inaugural GFF Elite League: Alpha United, GDF, Slingerz FC, Pele, Fruta Conquerors, GFC, Buxton United and Monedderlust FC. For the first time in Guyana’s club football structure, players and staff will be contracted to play football during the League. The Stag Beer Elite League will be officially launched on Monday.
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Some of the campers at the closing session of the five-week programme
fter a successful five weeks of learning the fundamentals of both football and life skills, over 100 youths graduated from the Heart of Oak Masters “Teach Them Young” football camp, which came to an end on Friday. A total of 13 youngsters from the New Amsterdam area attended the annual programme, which catered for persons aged four to 17. At the end, all of the participants received certificates of participation. In giving an overview of the 15th annual Heart of Oak football camp, facilitator Kenrick Bowery said the camp, which commenced on July 20 with 48 participants, closed with a registration of 104 participations. He explained that during the five-week period, campers were divided into age groupings: ages 4- 8, 9-12 and 12 plus. There was also a special section comprising female inmates of the New
Amsterdam Prison. Bowery noted that the coaching staff was headed by organiser Neil Humphrey and included Colin Bowery, Heathcliff Peters, Michael Erskine, Stayman Adams, Simone Bowlers, Lindsey Dougherty and Jenepher Wade. The camp was broken down into basic skills and technique, defence plays, attacking plays, set plays and other tactics and strategies. Those, Bowery noted, “ were complemented with laws of the game, physical fitness, warm up games and techniques”. He said the camp was privileged to have lectures on personal hygiene; road safety; emancipation; fire prevention; prevention of HIV and other Sexually Transmitted Diseases (STDs); discipline, and morals. “We were also blessed to have the opportunity of participating in one of our ancestral customs which is storytelling,” Bowery add-
single elimination final four tournament which is scheduled for October 2-4. The two finalists and the winner of the third-place match will qualify for the 2016 CONCACAF Women’s Olympic Qualifying Championship as CFU representatives. Once the Lady Jags finish in the top three, they will face the likes of USA, Canada, Mexico and two representative countries from the Central America region. Head Coach Mark Rodrigues noted the achievement by the team could possibly drive the enhanced
He also took the opportunity to thank the Alphonso family for donating several pairs of boots for the Under-12 section and thanked all supporters and well wishers of the camp. Apart from the All Saints Primary School which was used to conduct indoor sections, the All Saints Church was used for its outdoor facility and the New Amsterdam which made available its club hall for other indoor sessions. Bowery thanked Metro Office Supplies and the Department of Culture among others. This was the second year that the Heart of Oak Masters “Teach Them Young” football camp went on for more than four weeks. The camp was the largest in terms of participation in the 23 years of the Heart of Oak Masters “Teach Them Young” football camp.
Bravo lauds country's Olympic medal programme
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wayne Bravo, Trinidad and Tobago Red Steel captain, is happy with the Trinidad and Tobago Olympic Committee (TTOC) for establishing an Elite Athlete Welfare Fund. The fund was set up in January to complement the Elite Athlete Fund in a bid to win 10 or more Olympic medals by 2024. “I think it’s good. I am an athlete and I believe athletes could only do so much. They need support. If the
aim is for this medal count by the 2024 Olympics, then that means they have a target in mind, they have a goal set and I think it’s important that whatever assistance they can get from government, from companies, then we are working for 2024. I think they can be successful and achieve the ten gold medals. Bravo was speaking to the Trinidad Guardian about his belief in athletes from the twin-island re-
Lady Jags advance to final four of CFU Olympic Qualifier G
uyana’s national women’s football team have advanced to the final four of the Caribbean Football Union (CFU) 2016 Olympic Qualifiers. With the Lady Jags, as they are more commonly called, needing Cuba to either lose or defeat St Kitts and Nevis by less than eight goals to advance to the final four of the tournament, Cuba only managed to defeat St Kitts and Nevis by a 6–0 score line on Tuesday. The Lady Jags in their first game routed St Kitts and Nevis 8–0 and drew their game with Cuba 1–1. Guyana will now be involved in a
ed.
development of football in Guyana. “With the launch of the women’s league just around the corner, the advancement of the Lady Jags to the Caribbean Championships can be viewed as a huge catalyst to motivate female players in Guyana to start or continue playing. “With the limited preparation time afforded the team, it’s a very pleasant surprise to already experience success. The next round will be even more challenging and the coaching staff will have to find a way to have another minicamp prior to competition,” Rodrigues stated. Reflecting on the tournament,
the Florida-based Head Coach pointed out that his team’s biggest shortfall in the Dominican Republic was simply fitness. Meanwhile, according to the Florida-based Head Coach, who shared his joy over the achievement, a couple of other high-level players could be added to the squad for the next round. “Happy to see my country achieve success on the international stage once again, and I hope that we (the Guyana Football Federation (GFF)) use and cultivate that success even more for the amazing kids of our country and keep it sustained in the future.”
Dwayne bravo
public and what they can achieve if given the right support. According to Bravo, corporate Trinidad and Tobago and the government were not doing enough to ensure athletes had the right facilities for training and that the environment for creating world-class athletes was being created. Despite that, Bravo felt T&T athletes, like the team to the just-concluded Netball World Cup, and the contingent to the Pan American Games, have done well and show what can be achieved with a little more support. (Digicel Sportsmax)