President of the Guyana Football Federation (GFF) Wayne Forde on Thursday announced that the installation of FIFA approved flood lights at the federation’s National Training Centre (NTC) in Providence, East Bank Demerara, is on target to be completed by early December.
President Forde and Second Vice-President Rawlston Adams on October 5 visited the training facility to assess the advancement of the FIFA Forward US$1.1M project and witness the arrival of the four towers designed to withstand wind speeds of up to 85 mph.
United States-based company Musco Sport Lighting earlier this year won the bid and has sub-contracted parts of the project to local firm Cummings Electrical.
“We are providing as much support as we can from the Federation’s standpoint to the contracting team to do everything possible to ensure that they are able to meet the timelines,” President Forde told the media during a brief question and answer session on site.
He added that “our intention with the support of FIFA and Concacaf is to make the National Training Centre suitable for international football. We are hoping in 2024 that all of our home matches can be played here.”
The installation contract, which was signed in May, includes the manufacturing, shipping, installation, and testing of the lighting system.
On completion, the GFF will be able to host and broadcast international matches for all national teams and local leagues including the Elite League, Women’s Development League and Regional Association Leagues on the FIFA+ digital platform.
“With some remedial works we are doing on the pitch right now, FIFA will recertify the pitch so that we will have the green light to host international matches here. So there’s a lot of emphasis being placed on bringing this venue up to a certain level because we want to make sure that our players have the opportunity to play before their fans, and that has been a challenge of recent. A lot of work is being done here and the push will be intense within the next couple of months,” President Forde shared.
Additionally, with the assistance of FIFA and Concacaf, the GFF will soon commence the construction of seating on the western and southern sides of the pitch and the conversion of identified rooms to dressing rooms.
The civil works for the lighting installation project are projected to be finished by October, allowing for the commissioning of the project in December.
GFF Second Vice-President Adams stated that “the contractor has made the best of the initial weather that he has. He has put in the temporary access so that will give him access to the actual location where the piles are going to be driven for the lights. All the civil works we are expecting to be completed before the weather changes.”
The GFF National Training Centre was officially commissioned in 2019.
The initial phase of the project involved the installation of the artificial turf, while the second phase focuses on the construction of stands and installation of lights.
On completion, the facility will represent a significant milestone for the football fraternity as the first official home of football.
President Forde and the GFF Council remain resolute in their dedication to ensuring the development of cutting-edge football infrastructure in Guyana.
