Guyana Football Federation (GFF) President Wayne Forde yesterday urged the members of the national U15 squad to build on the achievement of the Soualiga Invitational Championship in an effort to achieve further success.
Following their historic triumph at the Soualiga Invitational Championship in St. Martin, the U15 squad was deservedly treated with an appreciation ceremony, yesterday at the entity’s Section-K Campbellville headquarters.
The Guyanese prevailed 1-0 over the host nation in the final to secure their inaugural youth title at the Caribbean level. Guyana ended the event with four wins and two scoreless draws (Guadeloupe and Barbados) in six matches.
Eight goals were scored with no goal scored against. The other teams to lose to the young Golden Jaguars were Martinique and the British Virgin Islands, with the latter suffering a 5-0 loss.
Forde, during the feature address noted, “This is one step in achieving your destiny if you are prepared to put the necessary work in and remain humble and focused at the task at hand.”
According to Forde, “At this moment you are not stars, you are the journey to become a star and if anyone tries to fill your head with the fact that you have arrived, that you are a big superstar in Guyana’s football that is going to set you back.”
He added, “Exactly who you were before you got to St Martin and won the tournament that is who you need to be going forward, you need to be disciplined, humble obedient, work under the guidance of Coach and TD [Technical Director] and work as hard as possible and that is when you are going to realize your true potential which may not exist in Guyana since it might be somewhere in Europe and coming back to served Guyana.” Meanwhile, GFF Technical Director Ian Greenwood lauded the achievement of the team and the manner in which it was accomplished, affirming that the eventual result was impacted by the Scotiabank Academy Training Centers, which provide players with professional coaching on a consistent basis. He said that the hard work has only begun, with the next assignment being the CONCACAF u15 Championship in Florida from August 13th-19th.
Director of Sports Christopher Jones declared, “to who much is given, much is expected and the government is extremely pleased with the performance of the team and hopes they remain humble since it is a long road ahead.” Also, Marketing Manager of Scotiabank Jennifer Cipriani, said the company was extremely proud of the achievement of the team, noting, “It is hard getting to the top and it is even harder staying at the top.”
She revealed that the entity will maintain its investment in the discipline.
Similarly, Pernell Cummings, Courts Guyana Inc. Marketing Manager said that he hopes future U15 national players can be developed from their annual ‘Pee Wee Football Championship’, adding, “discipline and team work are a big part of success and without those two you won’t achieve.”
GINSENG Brand Coordinator, Sean Abel, stated that Ansa McAl has been at the forefront of sports development in the country and as such, is delighted at the accomplishment of the team, declaring,
“The players continue with the momentum going into the future and keep us all proud.”
