Klass lauds ‘Lady Jags’ on history making triumph
Believes their sacrifice and hard work brought them through
President of the Guyana Football Federation (GFF) Colin Klass has lauded the ‘Lady Jags’ and their Technical staff headed by Technical Director Mark Rodrigues for their history making win over Cuba which paved the way for Guyana’s qualification for the CONCACAF Gold Cup which will be contested later this year.
Minister of Sport Dr. Frank Anthony meets Lady Jaguar Nikkita Persaud before Saturday’s game against Cuba at the Stadium.
Speaking with Kaieteur Sport after what can be described as a memorable come from behind win over Cuba at the Guyana National Stadium, Providence on Saturday evening, Klass said that the entire nation ought to be proud of the ‘Lady Jags’ achievement which saw them becoming the first Guyanese team – male or female – to qualify for the Gold Cup which would also be used as qualifying for the Women’s World Cup.
“The sacrifices made by these girls and the support of their parents have been great. I also want to commend the coaching staff for the tremendous sacrifices they also made during this long and challenging journey which is not completed. They have reaped the rewards and should all be proud of their efforts.”
The GFF boss also commended Minister of Sport Dr. Frank Anthony for the role he played in obtaining the uses of the Stadium for the game after the original venue -GCC- was ruled out as a result of a waterlogged filed due to heavy rain.
“Minister Anthony, Minister of Works Robeson Been and all the others who worked behind the scenes ought to be commended for the efforts made to get the Stadium for the game. I think that the venue made all the difference for us as it would have been difficult for the girls to do what they did on a heavy field.”
A number of corporate entities also came in for praise by Klass. “Tremendous thanks to Banks DIH and Digicel for their full support. I must also say thanks to Church’s Chicken and the Continental Group of Companies for their support. Many others contributed and we will be saying thanks to all those entities that have supported us at the appropriate time.”
Klass shared that the costs will continue to rise as Guyana seeks to be properly prepared for the challenges that will come from the other Gold Cup qualifiers, the likes of the North American teams United States, Canada and Mexico; Central American sides Guatemala and Costa Rica and fellow Caribbean teams Trinidad and Tobago and Haiti.
