GFF Women’s Development Football League geared to boost talent pool

The Guyana Football Federation (GFF) recently launched the GFF Women’s Development League, as part of its ongoing efforts with UEFA Assist, the Danish Football Union (DBU) and Concacaf to support the growth of women’s football in partnership with the Guyana National Women’s Football Association (GNWFA).

Thirty-seven teams from across the country will participate in the development league, which runs from June to October and leads up to the second consecutive edition of the GFF-GNWFA Women’s Super 16 Cup, starting in November. This translates into about six months of non-stop competitive football for senior women players in Guyana – a first in the nation’s history.

The tournament has been part-funded with EUR 35,000 from the DBU, via the UEFA Assist programme, providing materials and apparel to 37 clubs around the country.

“We are delighted to have supported the Danish Football Union in this important project via the fourth pillar of UEFA Assist, where we connect UEFA member associations with federations from outside of Europe to help develop football,” said Chris Milnes, International Relations Project Specialist at UEFA.

“I want to congratulate the GFF and Concacaf for all the hard work that they are doing to develop women’s football. This is also a key priority of UEFA Assist, through which we have developed specific programmes to help promote and empower women in football both on and off the pitch,” Milnes added.

GFF President Wayne Forde urged the participating players to “enjoy every moment” that the tournament will bring, especially given that national team staff will be scouting for talent for the

senior women’s national team.

“We are very excited to take on further step of the development of women’s football here in Guyana, and much of this would not have been possible without the generous support of our international partners,” President Forde said, thanking UEFA Assist and Concacaf.

The logistics of the tournament will be managed by the GNWFA, with the organisation’s President Andrea Johnson also extending gratitude on behalf of the association to the GFF, UEFA Assist and the DBU.

We are elated about this opportunity,” Johnson said. “We are getting to that place where we want to be as it relates to women’s football. This league will be a remarkable one because we have some spectacular players coming from all the clubs.”

In the first match of the season, Guyana Police Force Women beat Fruta Conquerors Women 4-0 at the GFF National Training Centre, with a first-half brace from Lady Jags star Annalisa Vincent and second-half goals from Shantel Greene and Melina Larson.