Guyana take on Guatemala in friendly soccer showdown

TIMES INT'L
Guyana take on Guatemalathis Sunday in Atlanta, Georgia, inthe first of four soccer matches in the ElPatron International series, which kicks off at the Kennesaw State University soccer stadium, home fieldof the Atlanta Beat Professional Women’sSoccer team.Colin Klass, president of the Guyana Football Federation,made the initial arrangements with Atlanta Beatto include the Guyana National Men’s team inthe series.Colin Baker, president of the Guyana Sports Foundation inFlorida, selected themembers of the team,called Golden Jaguars,who are currently activemembers of severalCaribbean and European soccer clubs.The Guyana Association Of Georgia(GAOG) has been actively planning withthe Guyana SportsFoundation to galvanizeGuyanese-Caribbean community support for the games.GAOG president Austin Thompson told Guyana Times International: “This willbe a significant tournament for both theGuyanese-Caribbeancommunity and theLatin community.”He added: “This endeavourprovides uswith the chance tobuild a bridge connecting the Guyanese-Caribbean communitywith the Latin community.I personallyhope that our participationin this tournament will give birthto a fruitful relationshipbetween Guyaneseand Guatemalans, andthat we will find waysto bring our broader communities togetherthrough joint sportingor cultural activities.”The Guyanese communityin Georgia hasreceived the teams withenthusiasm. Severallocal soccer clubs, includingGeorgetownUnited, and soccer organizerssuch as Linden“Colt” Carter and OrrinJordan, are collaboratingwith GAOG to makethe event a success.A welcome receptiondinner was heldon Tuesday for the localplayers when theyarrived in Georgia fortheir first-ever play inthat state.The GoldenJaguars have a currentFIFA ranking of98; Guatemala’s FIFAranking is 122.The other games to beplayed on Sunday at thenewly-built 8,300-seatstadium are Colombiavs U.S.A; Colombia vsMexico; and Mexico vsU.S.A.As the opener ofthe series, Guyana andGuatemala set the tonefor those three matches

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