GFF U20 talent ID programme underway in Florida

 Wayne `Wiggy’ Dover
Wayne `Wiggy’ Dover

A four-member contingent from the Guyana Football Federation’s (GFF) technical department is currently in Miami, Florida overseeing the final phase of the entity’s talent identification U20 programme.

The four are head-coach Wayne Dover, goalkeeper coach Eon DeVieira, fitness trainer Wilson Toledo and technical development officer Bryan Joseph.

The team will return to local shores Tuesday.

The GFF has conducted several talent ID sessions locally involving players from the various associations under its umbrella.

The Golden Jaguars have been drawn in Group-D of the Concacaf Men’s Under-20 Qualifiers.

Guyana will oppose Nicaragua, the Cayman Islands and the US Virgin Islands.

According to a release from Concacaf, the qualifiers will be staged in the Dominican Republic, from November 5 to 14.

The four eventual group winners will advance to the 2022 Concacaf Men’s Under-20 Championship.

Guyana competed in the 2018 and 2020 versions of the event. In the 2020 version which featured a qualifying section, Guyana defeated Montserrat 6-0, SVG 3-0 and the USVI 2-0. Their only defeat came at the hands of the higher ranked hosts Nicaragua via a 1-0 score line which sealed their exit from the competition.

The 2018 tournament, which was hosted in the United States of America, did not feature a qualifying tournament. (All of the 34 entrants were guaranteed a minimum of four matches. Seven countries did not participate).

The Golden Jaguars finished the tournament with a record of one win and three losses. Guyana defeated El Salvador 2-0, but lost to Guatemala (0-4), Cayman Islands (2-3) and Curaçao (3-4).