Ricky Shakes will on Sunday become the first ever professional English league player to play for the Guyana national team.
This was disclosed yesterday by head of Temptations Promotions Group Faizal Khan.
Khan told Stabroek Sport yesterday that Sunday’s historic encounter between Guyana’s Golden Jaguars and Cray Wanderers Football Club in England will see Shakes in action for the Golden Jaguars.
Temptation Promotions along with GT Promotions, are set to make football history by staging the first ever football match between a Guyana Football Federation (GFF) sanctioned ‘Guyana All Star XI’ and the second oldest football team in the world, the Cray Wonderers.
The match takes place this Sunday at the Dulwich Hamlet Football Club, Champion Hill Stadium, Edgar Kail Way, Dog Kennel Hill, London SE22 BD.
Khan said Shakes, who has played professional football for Bolton Wanderers on two occasions in the English FA Cup, will be remembered by soccer fans for scoring on his debut against Tranmere Rovers in the last minute to take the game into extra time in 2005.
He also disclosed that Shakes has represented Trinidad and Tobago.
“He has played 10 minutes for Trinidad in a friendly against Iceland in 2006. He only came on for a few minutes at the end of the game,“ Khan said.
“He never carried on looking at international football because he wanted to focus on his club career. He wanted to play for a nation that’s hungry for success and, although he has played for Trinidad, he sees Guyana as a far more attractive proposition to really start his international career especially with this game, Khan said yesterday.
According to Khan, Shakes, whose father is Guyanese by birth and mother Trinidadian, has played over 100 professional England league games.
Last season he played for Ebbsfleet United in League Three.
Khan said he hopes that Shakes will be the first of many professional English league players to see the light and switch allegiance and join the campaign for Guyana to qualify for their very first World Cup.
“If Jamaica can do it, Trinidad can do it then Guyana can do it,” he declared.
However Khan said football would need the general support of the public for this to be a reality.
He said that one of the biggest stars in the Major League Soccer (MLS) is Dwayne De Rosario.
“De Rosario plays for the Canada International team, although both is parents are Guyanese, simply because there was no means for him to play for Guyana.
“Temptation is bridging the gap to make sure that there will no longer be this type of problem,” said Khan who is the first FIFA licensed agent from this region after having been accredited by the English FA and FIFA.
“What I’d like this license to do is to open more doors like the upcoming match which should have happened 30 years ago,” he said.
“This is catch up time for Guyana football. We need the continued support of the GFF and the Guyanese community,” Khan added.
The Guyanese community must come out and support the team. Also, Guyanese all around the world must believe that we can qualify for the World Cup either this one or the next. If we don’t believe that it will happen then it won’t happen.”