Lady Jags Annalisa Vincent wants more opportunities for hinterland sports
Annalisa Vincent
By: Meshach Atkinson:::
Annalisa Vincent is one of the many talented young women selected to represent Guyana as part of the CONCACAF Women Gold Cup Qualifier which kicks off in Guyana this evening. The Games will take place at the Lenora Track and Field Facility in West Demerara, Region 3. Vincent will be playing with the Lady Jaguars.
Vincent Who became the first Indigenous person to secure an athletic scholarship last month to the Graceland University in Iowa, United State, believes that even more can be done to develop local talents.
Coming from the North West District Community of Moruca, the 22-year-old spoke with BIG Smith News Watch just before training on Tuesday night at the games venue.
“I am proud of my great achievements especially coming from a hinterland region and knowing I am the first indigenous to play at this level. There is opportunity in football. I would like young girls to know that football is a beautiful game and it can carry you on and if you keep on it, the game can carry you very far.” Vincent told said on Tuesday night.
According to her, one of the things she hopes to see more of is investments in the area of hinterland sports as she is of the view that many persons living in the hinterland especially girls, are very talented when it comes to the various sporting disciplines but the opportunities are not coming as often as they would like to.
She made known that in order to develop more local talents, the Guyana Football Federation needs to carry out more football programs to develop young players.
“In order to see more local talents, more competition needs to be carried out so more players can be involved and exposed, not only in football but other areas such as volleyball, cricket, and other local sports.”
The football match is scheduled to begin at 8:00p.m this evening at the Lenora track and field stadium and will see the Guyana Lady Jaguars taking on a formidable Dominican Republic Squad in their opening qualification match of the 2022 Concacaf “W” Championship.
The games act as a gateway to the FIFA Women’s World Cup in Australia and New Zealand.