Golden Jaguars for “train and play” trip to Brazil

Guyana’s Men’s National Football Team, the Golden Jaguars, will warm up for the CONCACAF Nations League qualifiers later this year with an intensive “train and play” trip to Brazil in August.

The national squad encampment will involve extensive training in Rio de Janeiro and friendly matches against local teams.  The encampment kick starts a busy schedule of competition and training for the Golden Jaguars, following the appointment of former Jamaica international Michael Johnson as the new National Team Head Coach.

Johnson’s immediate target is to guide Guyana to its first appearance at a CONCACAF Gold Cup, in 2019.

“One of the key development objectives of the GFF is to ensure that our national teams have the full calendar of playing and training time needed, in order to achieve the improved performances and results we all want to see,” said GFF Technical Director Ian Greenwood.

“Under the guidance of Head Coach Johnson, with longer encampments and a ‘train and play’ trip to Brazil, the Golden Jaguars will be in the best shape they have ever been going into the CONCACAF Nations League qualifiers later this year.”

UEFA Pro Licence holder Johnson, the highest qualified head coach in the history of the Golden Jaguars, is now working with the GFF Technical Department to prepare the national team for upcoming CONCACAF Nations League qualifier fixtures against Barbados, Turks & Caicos and French Guiana.

Johnson will be in Guyana on Thursday (June 7) for discussions with the technical team, and to start putting his programme in place. The Golden Jaguars will be encamped in Guyana before each of the CONCACAF Nations League qualifiers, which coincide with FIFA international windows.

The camps are scheduled to take place at the new GFF National Training Centre at Providence, with Guyana’s first dedicated, all-weather football pitch due to enter its final stage of construction shortly.

The 2018 fixtures for the Men’s national team include:

• September 8 – CONCACAF Nations League qualifier v Barbados (home)
• October 13 – CONCACAF Nations League qualifier v Turks and Caicos (away)
• November 20 – CONCACAF Nations League qualifier v French Guiana (away)

The GFF plans to host six national training camps per calendar year – four during FIFA international windows and two further camps outside of those windows- with the possibility of encampment in the UK. Further details of the programme and squad for the trip to Brazil will be released in due course, the Guyana Football Federation said.