They held a media briefing to ask for privacy leading up to discussions with President Bharrat Jagdeo and Guyana Football Federation (GFF) President Colin Klass in the wake of media reports on the possibility that the year-end tournament might not be held, but in the end conceded that it was indeed possible that the Kashif and Shanghai year-end football fiesta would not be held this year. “It is difficult to envisage, I never thought about it but a possibility exists,” was how Mohammed chose to respond to a question on the possibility of this year’s tournament being cancelled. Mohammed would also only offer a ‘no comment’ on whether the meetings with the country President and the GFF President were in relation to the effects of Value Added Tax and the GFF 11 percent levy on the tournament as has been reported by Stabroek Sport. Reading from a prepared statement, Mohammed and his organizing partner, Aubrey ‘Shanghai’ Major, said the meetings being sought with Presidents Jagdeo and Klass “can result in the issues being addressed and that the outcomes will lead directly to the commencement of arrangements for the staging of the 2007/2008 tournament.”
However, they added that the hosting of this year’s tournament does not hinge entirely on these future negotiations. Both Jagdeo and Klass are presently out of the country. Stabroek Sport has been reporting that the duo have been forced to rethink the viability of the 17-year tournament following the introduction of the VAT and the organisers’ reluctance to charge an additional 16 percent on tickets. Stabroek Sport also reported that the GFF had been written to by the Kashif and Shanghai Organization to reduce the levy from around $900,000.00 to about $600,000.00.
Mohammed acknowledged that the tournament was bigger that the Kashif and Shanghai Organization with a number of persons and virtually all forms of businesses cashing in on the lucrative event and the visitors it attracts to Linden. Striking an optimistic note, the duo said:”We believe that there exists a genuine desire on the parts of all concerned for the Kashif and Shanghai tournament, which has become a fixture on the local entertainment calendar, to continue and we are optimistic that the tournament will continue unhindered.” They also called for the various football clubs around the country to proceed with the customary pre-tournament preparation and for fans to hold themselves in a state of readiness for the customary entertainment for which the tournament has become popular across the country.