The Guyana Football Federation (GFF) will partner with the US-based AR Student Athlete Soccer Scholarship Academy (ARSASSA) for a one-week football camp in Guyana in February 2023, which will educate players of the academic and professional development opportunities available in the US youth soccer and college structure.
The pioneering initiative, which will also expose the cream of young Guyanese football talent to coaches and scouts from the United States and Brazil, was formalised during a meeting between the two organisations on September 17.
Five college coaches from the U.S. and one academy coach from a club in Brazil will participate in the week-long camp at the GFF National Training Centre in February, which will be facilitated by ARSASSA in collaboration with the GFF Technical Department, led by Acting Technical Director Bryan Joseph, a former Golden Jaguar.
“The GFF is committed to exploring all possibilities to help Guyanese girls and boys develop their talent to its full potential and forge opportunities from football, whether that might be in education, professional sport or other careers,” said GFF President Wayne Forde.
“As part of these ongoing efforts, we are delighted to partner with ARSASSA for this potentially life-changing football camp,” President Forde added. “Young players from our national team youth structure will be able to improve their technical skills, showcase their ability to scouts and college coaches, and learn more about how to navigate the U.S. college pathway.”
Adding his thoughts on the initiative, the Technical Director of the GFF said: “One of our core goals as a federation is to develop a clear pathway from youth football to professional and educational opportunities for our players.”
“We know we have the talent, and we have seen how trailblazers such as Natalie Nedd and Omari Glasgow have excelled in the U.S. college or professional football environments.”
“We are confident that, following this important camp in February, many more of our players will be able to follow in their footsteps,” concluded Joseph.
