Current phase of works at GFF National Training Centre nearing completion

Jun 17, 2021 Sports

Works at the Guyana Football Federation (GFF) National Training Centre located at Providence, East Bank Demerara is progressing satisfactorily with the current phase nearing completion.

GFF President Wayne Forde (right) and members of the Media during a tour of the Training Room at the National Training Center

Updating the media was GFF President Wayne Forde on Tuesday last at the facility which is the first of its kind for Guyana.
“Things are pretty close to completion at this stage which is the dorms, the kitchen, gym and all the technical facilities. We are about to place an order for the furnishings, we spent a few weeks going through all the bits and pieces, gym equipment, the beds, equipment for the kitchen and quite a bit.”
Forde said that the Federation has placed a very high premium on quality construction at the facility and when it is up and running, plans are that as many national team camps as possible would be held there.
“Especially from our under-20 all the way down so I would say that we are in a good place.”
He disclosed that two local companies are among some international companies which have tendered for the installation of lights for the field at the facility.
“That tender would be closed sometime at the end of July and then the committee would look at it and make the decision. FIFA Procurement gets involved so looking ahead I would say, September/October we’ll see the lighting going up.”
He further informed that it would cost in the vicinity of four to five hundred thousand USD and soon, the Federation would be able to reveal the overall sight development plan for the facility;
“Which has a pavilion at the center of the pitch seating and all of that. I’ve said so many times before that we are always anxious about the pace at which things are going but we are a funded organization and the compliance requirement of FIFA is very rigid with forward regulation.”
The project he said is moving at a good pace but is hoping that the pace can pick up somewhat.
“But what is most evident here is the quality of work that is being done which is something that we’ve been paying very careful attention to.”
Forde also took the opportunity to update on the New Amsterdam and Golden Grove Projects which have been affected by the rainy weather.
“Only this morning (Tuesday) I got an update, the weather has really been a challenge there but I see more progress has been made in New Amsterdam as compared to what has been made in Golden Grove. New Amsterdam, the walls are up and they are progressing fairly well.
We are putting in the additional application for those two grounds which would be surface and lighting and we are also looking at some portable bleachers. So those would be the two hubs for the regional association of the East Coast to operate out of and all of their developmental activities and competitions and New Amsterdam.”
When these two projects are completed, Forde stated that the focus would be shifting to the West Demerara and Upper Demerara Football Associations for similar projects.
“The idea is to have each association to have really good quality venues where they can play their tournaments, year round. We are still playing with eth idea of doing all-weather turfs but I don’t know how that will affect our budget, but we’ll see how that goes.”