Phase One construction of FIFA Forward Programme to start in seven days- Forde

By Avenash Ramzan

The wheels are being set in motion for Guyana’s first FIFA Forward Project, construction of which is expected to start in early October.

This is the guarantee given by President of the Guyana Football Federation, Wayne Forde, who delivered remarks at a press conference on Tuesday, where it was announced that construction of Phase One is ready to get underway.

According to Forde, construction is projected to start “in seven days.”

Labelling this latest news as “exciting” and “monumental” for Guyana’s football development, Forde revealed that the facility, which is being dubbed by the Federation as the National Training Centre, will be constructed by Greenfields, which has sub-contracted local company Nabi and Sons.

“We’re all aware that FIFA would have gone through several changes within its developmental arm over the past couple of years; I should say over the past year and a half and the new management at FIFA’s Development Department wanted to have a situation where a single contractor is responsible for the entire works associated to the construction of the artificial turf, and as a result of that the Executive Committee met with Home Design and Engineering Associates who were awarded a contract last year and we were able to amicably resolve the matter relating to their contract,” Forde explained.

He added, “Greenfields is the sole contractor for this phase of the work, but their sub-contractor is going to be Nabi and Sons and we want to ensure that we clear the air on that.”

Forde added that the construction of the facility, located at the Providence Community Centre, East Bank Demerara, is aimed at helping Guyana to consistently produce the best quality of footballers.

“So much of the conceptual design that you see is going to be tweaked a bit to ensure that the facility caters for the development of those athletes. As part of the grand facility that we’re building, we’re going to have a gym, we’re considering a cool-down pool, we’re going to install or build a dorms where we can have lengthy encampment. We’re also looking at a high-quality catering and kitchen service; we’re going to try to create commercial spaces that can create revenue for the Guyana Football Federation, so much of that work would commence after we would have completed Phase One,” Forde stated.

The Federation is projecting the entire facility to be completed in a little over two years, Forde indicated.

“I can assure you it’s going to make a tremendous impact on the way football is operated in Guyana. Much of the encampment services that we’re involved in really requires a massive investment from the Federation. As we have stated in the public before, encamping a team comes at almost (Guyana) $300,000 to $400,000  a day, so with our facility we’ll be able to reduce that cost dramatically, and at the same time, prepare our athletes to compete at the highest level, regionally and internationally,” Forde assured.

Phase One is expected to be completed by mid-January 2018. When complete, it will be the first state-of-the-art football facility, which will seek to among others, produce consistent levels of highly competitive and exciting football that is a force to be reckoned with regionally and on the international scene.

The facility will cater for football development among both males and females and will be the focal point for football activity at all levels of the game.   

Construction of the artificial turf will be done by Greenfields, a manufacturer of artificial turf. Following this, the accompanying amenities will be constructed.