The Guyana Football Federation’s ongoing Youth Ensemble U-15 Boys Championship will play a major role in identifying players for the Junior Jaguars squad that will represent Guyana at the inaugural FIFA Global U-15 Boys Festival in October 2026.
GFF President Wayne Forde confirmed Guyana’s participation in the FIFA youth initiative, which is expected to bring together young players from across the world in a development-focused environment.
The host nation and official dates for the festival are still to be announced by FIFA. All 211 FIFA Member Associations are eligible to participate.
The competition is open to boys born in 2011 and 2012 and will be played in an 8 versus 8 format on half of a standard FIFA-regulation field. Matches will be played over two 20-minute halves, with running substitutions allowed.
Guyana’s delegation will include 14 players and six officials. The team will also include a Child Safeguarding Officer as part of the Federation’s player welfare and child protection measures.
The GFF Technical Department will conduct a talent identification exercise to select the squad. The process will cover players based locally and eligible players from the Guyanese diaspora.
The Youth Ensemble Championship, which features players from the country’s nine Regional Associations, is expected to be one of the main scouting platforms. The GFF said its talent identification team will work with member associations to evaluate players during the competition.
Forde said the FIFA initiative comes at an important time for youth football in Guyana.
“The FIFA Global U-15 Boys Festival represents a significant step forward in our commitment to developing the next generation of Guyanese footballers. International football presents unique challenges, and many young players experience considerable psychological pressure when representing their country for the first time,” Forde said.
“This initiative will provide our boys with invaluable international exposure at a critical stage of their development, helping them build confidence, resilience and the mindset required to compete on the global stage.”
Forde said he is also looking forward to seeing players from across the country compete for places in the programme.
“I am particularly excited about the opportunity to discover talented young players from every corner of Guyana. Our ongoing Youth Ensemble U-15 Championship is creating unprecedented opportunities for talent identification across all nine Regional Associations, and I am confident that hidden gems will emerge from communities throughout our country,” he said.
He also urged parents to support their children as they pursue football opportunities.
“I encourage parents to take an active interest in their sons’ football development. Support them, encourage them to work hard, remain disciplined, embrace good values and dare to dream of representing Guyana. The pathway is open, and the opportunity is real.”
Forde added that selection will be based only on merit.
“Most importantly, I want every young player and every parent to know that selection will be based solely on merit. Every eligible boy, whether he resides in Guyana or within our diaspora, will be given an equal and fair opportunity to earn his place in the Junior Jaguars programme,” he said.
The FIFA Global U-15 Boys Festival is designed to develop and assess technical and tactical qualities in young players. The small-sided format is expected to increase ball contact, speed up decision-making, improve technical execution and strengthen game intelligence.
FIFA will also collect performance data during the festival, which will be shared with participating Member Associations to support future player development programmes.
The GFF said the Youth Ensemble Programme remains central to its grassroots development strategy. The programme was created to give young players structured annual competition, regular match exposure and an environment where youth coaches can develop their technical and tactical work.
The Federation said it will provide further updates on scouting activities, player selection criteria and tournament preparations once more information becomes available from FIFA.
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