GFF to roll out eight-year development plan

By Avenash Ramzan

In an effort to ensure the holistic development of football from Pee Wee right up to the senior level, the Guyana Football Federation (GFF) will commence work on an eight-year development plan, with recommendations from key stakeholders within the fraternity.

The ambitious plan, which is geared at charting the way forward for local football, should be finalised by the end of the year.
The disclosure was made recently by Deputy General Secretary of the GFF, George Rutherford, who said the whole thrust behind the idea is to set a solid platform to catapult Guyana as a strong football force, not just in the Region, but worldwide.
The GFF’s map on the way forward comes at a time when the Golden Jaguars- the senior national footballers- are enjoying a purple patch, touching unchartered territories in the third round of Qualification for the 2014 Football World Cup in Brazil.
“We have recognized that while he have arrived at the stage of the World Cup Qualifiers, and having reached this stage [third round] for the first time, what we really need to do is have a strategic plan that would point us in the direction what we need to do at the Under-13, Under-15, Under-17, Under-20 and Under-23 levels,” Rutherford explained.
He added, “We also need to recognize what kinds of technical competences we need in the areas of coaching and refereeing, and in the administration of football.
So what we have done is to develop an eight-year development plan, and so we have embarked on a process that will lead us, hopefully before the end of the year, to come up with such a plan which will give us some notions of what it is we need to do with the resources we have.”
Rutherford intimated that the reason for putting in place a cadre of different age group players is to ensure cohesion and create camaraderie among the footballers.
“At the same time, we would be on the lookout for others to join those squads, so that our development plan will be one that will put us in the direction of ensuring we know what we have and what we need to do,” he said.
Rutherford divulged that this age group plan will also take into account the abundance of football players in the diaspora.

“One thing our plan will certainly take account of is the fact that Guyana is a country that has a very large migration population, and because in the diaspora we have lots of Guyanese there, whatever we do at the local level we recognize that we will have to do and be on the lookout for talents we have overseas,” the veteran football official acknowledged, noting that the ultimate aim is to ensure Guyana continues to make strides up the football ladder.
Rutherford felt the need for executives of the GFF and stakeholders of the football fraternity to be in “retreat mode”, as they kick off discussions on the proposed content of the eight-year development plan.
Acting president of the GFF, Franklin Wilson, said a small committee has also been set up to pull off the retreat. Apart from Rutherford, the committee will include national coach Wayne Dover, Brazilian Fitness Trainer Americo Falopa, Technical Development Officer Lyndon France and national coach Jamaal Shabazz.
Wilson said male and female players, both at the senior and junior levels, will be consulted on the way forward.