Michael Johnson, the new Head Coach of the Senior Men’s National Football Team, will visit Guyana on Thursday (June 7) to meet the Guyana Football Federation (GFF) and football stakeholders, and to visit the new FIFA-funded GFF National Training Centre, currently under construction at Providence.
Forty-four-year-old British Johnson, a former Jamaica international and English Premier League and Championship veteran, is the highest qualified national coach in the history of the Golden Jaguars, with a UEFA Pro Licence and the League Managers Association Diploma in Football Management.
His references for the role included former England Manager Sven-Goran Eriksson, the Premier League and the English Football Association.
“We look forward to hosting Michael this week as we introduce him to the local football fraternity and immediately get to work on taking the performances of our national team to the next level,” said GFF President Wayne Forde.
“Michael’s appointment is a big statement of intent, and sends a strong signal to our players and to our regional opponents. It also speaks volumes about the visible progress we are making in rebuilding the image of football in Guyana, and in developing the game.”
Johnson’s first competitive game in charge will be a home fixture against Barbados in the CONCACAF Nations League qualifiers on September 8, as Guyana seeks to reach its first-ever CONCACAF Gold Cup tournament in 2019.
The all-weather National Training Centre pitch at Providence – part of Guyana’s first dedicated, national facility for football, funded by the FIFA Forward programme – is on schedule to be completed in time to host national squad preparations for that match.
Johnson will also visit the Leonora Track and Field Centre on Thursday. That venue recently staged CONCACAF international matches.
