GFF president Wayne Forde with Guyana Rush Saints FC
President of the Guyana Football Federation (GFF), Wayne Forde, has announced that Region One will become a GFF’s Regional Member Association (RMA) in the coming months.
This announcement was made at the final of the Rupununi Football Association (RFA) Champions League 2017 held at the Guyana Rush Saints football ground in Lethem, Region Nine.
In his address to the teams prior to the match and while emphasising the need for the expansion of the GFF-Scotiabank Academy Training Centres (ATC), Forde said a fact-finding mission is being conducted in Region One.
“Today Mr. Dion Inniss, Executive member of the GFF, is in Region One on a fact-finding mission. He will be meeting with leaders of the communities to initiate the membership process. Region One will become a Member Association in the coming months and we will be establishing an Academy Training Centre there as well,” Forde said.
Forde underscored the human development element of football in the hinterland as well the importance of the talent in the hinterland being part of the growth of the game: “The football leaders of the past offered excuses; my Executive offers practical solutions to accessing the talent of the hinterland. We have the courage to confront the challenges that for many years have suffocated the development of football within the hinterland communities. This is what football development should look like, we are doing our best to make up for many years of neglect and I promise you that I will not rest until the leadership of this nation recognises the human development power of football and its value to the peoples of the hinterland communities.”
Meanwhile, the final of the RFA Champions League 2017, which kicked off at 16:30h, saw the Guyana Rush Saints FC male team being crowned champions over Paiwomak Warriors FC by a 4-1 margin and Guyana Rush Saints FC female team defeating Titans United FC 2-1.
Among the scorers for the Guyana Rush Saints FC were Franklyn Parks (2) and Jude Mc Donald (2), while Shawn Browne was the scorer for Paiwomak Warriors FC. For the female team, Nara Rocha and Samantha Paulina scored for the Guyana Rush Saints FC and Jannes Marawanarau scored for Titans United FC.
Sixteen teams participated in the tournament, which began in March 2017, consisting of males and females. The final also had remarks from Kerwin Ward, Region Nine’s Regional Executive Officer; Manisha Mai-Lee Wong – First Princess in the Miss World Guyana 2017, as well as tournament sponsors.
