A tremendous achievement for the nation

Golden Jaguars winger Callum Harriot [no.21] trying to maintain possession of the ball while being marked by a Belizean at the National Track and Field Centre, Leonora in the CONCACAF Nations League Qualifiers

Guyana Football Federation [GFF] President Wayne Forde says that the Golden Jaguars historic qualification for the CONCACAF Gold Cup is a monumental achievement for the entire nation.

Speaking at the post match press conference following the side’s hard-fought win over Belize on Saturday, the visibly overjoyed Forde said, “We must recognize that this is a symbolic, tremendous accomplishment for Guyana. First and foremost when we go and play in the Gold Cup, they are probably 40 million people on this planet that will hear the name Guyana for the first time and for me that is the point that we need to emphasize so I don’t pay any attention to the narratives that we try to tie ourselves to whether someone was born here or not.”

“The fact that our guys are willing to come and wear the badge with honour and distinction is a privilege and we are happy that they came out here tonight and gave 100 percent and brought us over the line,” he added. Guyana earned their maiden berth in the 2019 CONCACAF Gold Cup after defeating Belize 2-1 in their final CONCACAF Nations League Qualifier at the National Track and Field Centre, Leonora. It was the second ever meeting of the nations. The Golden Jaguars ended their campaign on nine points, thus finishing in the top 10 automatic qualifiers for the prestigious confederation championship, set to commence in June.