Professional Football
Ramsaroop starts exploratory phase
By Steve Ninvalle
Sunday, January 29th 2006
Businessman Peter Ramsaroop has started exploratory work that will lead to the creation of a professional football team and league in Guyana.
Ramsaroop said yesterday that he has started meeting with some of Guyana leading coaches in an effort to form an "exploratory committee."
He will soon be contacting players in order to kick start the pro team and league. "We have started working, it is a long haul but pretty soon we will be in full flight, Ramsaroop said.
Late last year Ramsaroop, the patron of RoopGroup Western Tigers Football Club had set his sight on the creation of a professional football team.
The businessman said that he was willing to foot the bill for the first professional team and intends to call about 16 players and pay them a salary at the end of each month.
Initially players will be recruited for six months with a fixed salary. Ramsaroop noted then that his initiative could only be successful if at least three other businessmen come on board and do the same thing.
The Guyana Football Federation and the Georgetown Football League have thrown their weight behind the initiative with GFF president Colin Klass claiming that the entire Guyana will benefit from the endeavour.
Klass said that Ramsaroop would receive the full support of the federation.
"I'm meeting with top coaches in the country and players to determine the process that will be required to set up such a team and league," Ramsaroop said yesterday.
The businessman acknowledged that initially there will not be enough professional teams in Guyana to complete a league. However, he noted that in the interim he is willing to look to teams from Brazil to fill the breach.
"Of course this can only lift the standard of football in Guyana," Ramsaroop said.
Source:http://www.stabroeknews.com/
