Local U20 women, men’s squads to commence training weekend
The Guyana Football Federation [GFF] has confirmed that provisional local squads for the CONCACAF U20 women’s and men’s teams will commence training this week at the National Training Center, Providence.
This is according to General Secretary of the Guyana Football Federation [GFF] Ian Alves.
“The teams are scheduled to commence training this week and it will be done between the National Training Center at Providence and possibly the Police Sports Club ground at Eve Leary. We have asked the Police for the use of the facility to help rotate the training for the teams and we are awaiting a response from them. The women’s teams [U17 and U20] have started in Canada while the local contingent will commence this week. The schedule for the U17 women’s team is yet to be finalized but we expect mid-year for them to compete.”
He added that a meeting is to be staged to ascertain the respective management teams.
Meanwhile, a source close to the federation revealed, “A list of 60 players have been shortlisted and from there they will break it down. Only a handful of players will feature from few players from the previous championship, maybe three or four so it’s effectively a new team that will represent Guyana at the tournament.”
The women’s U20 team, winner of group-A in the Qualifying Round, has been elevated [alongside group-B winner St’ Kitts and Nevis] to compete in the second round of the CONCACAF Women’s Championship in the Dominican Republic from February 22nd-March 8th.
Guyana has been drawn in Group-D alongside Mexico, Nicaragua and Puerto Rico. They will open their campaign against Nicaragua on February 23rd, before battling Puerto Rico two days later. In their final group match, Guyana will oppose Mexico on the 27th.
The other groups are Group-C: United States, Honduras, Dominican Republic and Cuba, Group-E: Canada, Jamaica, Guatemala and El Salvador and Group-F: Saint Kitts and Nevis, Haiti, Trinidad and Tobago and Cayman Islands.
With Panama and Costa Rica awarded direct berths to the FIFA Women’s U20 World Cup due to their status as host nations, the eventual winner and runnerup of the CONCACAF Championship will earn berths to the global championship.
On the Men’s side, Guyana compete in the prestigious championship slated for Nicaragua from February 15th-23rd. They will commence their group-A campaign against Montserrat on the 15th at the Estadio de Nacional de Futbol from 16:30hrs.
In their second fixture, Guyana will oppose St. Vincent and the Grenadines (Reuters) - AB de Villiers has confirmed there have been talks about his return to South Africa’s team for this year’s Twenty20 World Cup in Australia.
De Villiers, widely regarded as one of the best limited- overs batsmen in the world, retired from all forms of international cricket in 2018, citing a desire to spend more time with his family.
But after a change in personnel and structure at Cricket South Africa, in which his former team mates Graeme Smith (director of cricket) and Mark Boucher (head coach) have taken key positions, the 35-year-old has had a change of heart.
“There’s a lot that needs to happen before that becomes reality, but I would love to,” De Villiers told reporters in Australia.
“I’ve been talking to Bouch, Graeme Smith and Faf (Du Plessis) back home. We are all keen to make it happen, it’s a long way away still and plenty can happen – there’s the IPL (Indian Premier League) coming. two days later at the same venue from 16:30hrs. This will be followed by an encounter with US Virgin Islands on the 21st from 20:30hrs. In their final showdown, Guyana will battle the host nation on the 23rd at 20:30hrs.
Guyana in their previous outing in the CONCACAF U20 Championship in 2018, ended with a record of one win [El Salvador] and three losses [Guatemala, Curacao and Cayman Islands]. The qualifying round of the event features 17 teams being divided into four groups. One group will comprise five teams.
The top finisher from each group will advance to the knockout round. The other groups are Group B: Dominican Republic, Grenada, Dominica and Anguilla, Group C: Curacao, Guadeloupe, Belize and Saint Martin and Group D: Bermuda, Puerto Rico, Cayman Islands and Barbados.
Meanwhile the remaining 16 teams have been divided into four groups of four in the second round section. The groups are Group E: United States, Costa Rica, Jamaica and Saint Kitts and Nevis, Group F: Mexico, El Salvador, Canada and Aruba, Group G: Panama, Haiti, Trinidad and Tobago and Suriname and Group H: Honduras, Cuba, Guatemala and Antigua and Barbuda.
The top three finishers from the second round division will progress to the knockout round. According to CONCACAF, “the final stage of the competition (round of 16, quarterfinal, semifinal and final) will be played in a single match elimination format, with the semifinalist qualifying to the FIFA U-20 World Cup Indonesia 2021.”
“I’ve still got to be in form at that time. But I’m thinking of throwing my name in the hat and hoping everything will work out.”