Former national coach Jamal Shabazz has, for the fourth time, been appointed head coach of the Guyana national football team.
His appointment was made following a press conference on Friday by the Guyana Football Federation (GFF), led by president Wayne Forde.
Shabazz, the Morvant Caledonia United boss, had held the Golden Jaguars top coaching job from 2005-2008, 2011-2012, as well as 2015-2016.
Shabazz comes in as the GFF parted ways with Brazilian Marcio Maximo, whom they had brought in for the World Cup qualifiers. In Guyana's first match of the qualifiers, they were thrashed 3-0 by T&T's Soca Warriors under then-coach Terry Fenwick.
After being named in the position, he said: "I’m here to build upon the platform of their work while bringing my own experience, love and commitment to the game. Building isn’t all about ‘mashing down’ but it is about using platforms that have been established already.
"When I look at the technological and infrastructural advancement in the last five years, a lot has to do with the leadership of president Forde and the executives."
Shabazz also called for the development of local coaches in Guyana, as well as physiotherapists and trainers as he attempts to bring them up to the level required, saying: "It is an interesting journey and process."
Meanwhile, Forde said: "Coach Shabazz and his career achievements are well known to us all, not least his exceptional endeavours in delivering the most successful campaign in FIFA World Cup qualification that our Golden Jaguars have ever known.
"To give some background to the decision, in considering the options to this vital role, at the top of our list were five key criteria, the first being a candidate with experience in delivering results in the Concacaf region, someone willing to reside in Guyana full time, an individual with a good track record in managing at the international level in the Caribbean, someone with a steadfast focus on continuing the work to develop home-based talent, knowledge of Guyana, it’s football landscape, its culture and its diaspora. With this in mind, we quickly singled out coach Shabazz as the prime candidate for the job."