In recent times, the Guyana Football Federation (GFF) has faced criticism about its youth academies across the nation from some sections of the media. However, on Thursday the national federation wasted no time in declaring that all is well with the academies.
President of the GFF, Wayne Forde, while noting that he welcomes the “scrutiny” of the media, believes that the latest stone cast at the federation about its failed youth academy has “undermined” the work of the GFF.
“The Guyana Football Federation and its executive committee has been very open with the public and our stakeholders and our members regarding the challenges we inherited more so with our status with FIFA that affected our funding. The tremendous work that we have done was because of our will and because of the support we received from our partners.
“We have returned Guyana to full compliance with FIFA and the mechanics of full funding is returning right now,” Forde stated.
Technical Director of the GFF, Ian Greenwood, noted that the GFF has academies throughout all the regions of Guyan,a noting that “mass participation” is one of the key areas the federation in hoping to achieve in an effort to widen the talent pool of players.
Meanwhile, Director of Youth Development, Bryan Joseph, who shared some numbers on the academies that suggested continued growth, noted that the academy is the first of its kind.
In addition, Joseph noted that the GFF has been active with the development officers as they are targeting the 13-15 age category. Nevertheless, the federation is hoping to continue its work by instituting a system of sustenance for its programmes.
