Golden Jaguars issues statement
In the wake of statement by president of the Guyana Football Federation (GFF) president Colin Klass at a press conference recently where he stated categorically that he would not be pressured into leaving the post of head of the GFF which he has held since 1991, the members of the national football team known as the Golden Jaguars yesterday issued the following statement.
The Golden Jaguars, following their failure to qualify for next month’s Digicel Caribbean Cup finals in Jamaica had stated that they would retire from international football unless Klass stepped down as president of the GFF.
Klass has denied that he was told by the players who confronted him at the Crown Plaza Hotel in Trinidad early on Monday morning, that they would retire unless he stepped down.
The statement, which has the names of 20 of the Golden Jaguars affixed at the bottom, was sent to Stabroek Sport via e-mail.
Following is an edited version of the statement.
We wish to clarify our position on the recent incidents surrounding Guyana International Football team and the President of the Guyana Football Federation Colin Klass.
Our playing careers for Guyana under the leadership of Klass have been riddled (with) unprofessionalism and in many cases a total disregard for players and technical staff.
This latest outburst by us, players, comes as a result of Mr. Klass yet again failing to meet his commitments to the team and, instead of facing us in an honest manner, he sought to sneak away and leave the matter in the hands of the team manager.
While we made an error in calling for a boycott of GFF sanctioned activities, we feel that there are several issues that the GFF must address if Guyana’s football is to become relevant and remain the competitive entity it has developed into over the last three years.
1) The hierarchy of the GFF needs to stop deceiving players and staff and be professional and upfront in future arrangements. I.e. we are often told that we would get X amount. Things change drastically and we are never notified. We are just expected to accept. Blame is then put on the government and business community in failing to provide funding.
2) The GFF must address the relationship or lack of it that currently exists between themselves and the government of Guyana and Corporate Guyana. There is no way we can go forward as a nation in football if harmony, trust and goodwill do not exist between Government, Corporate Guyana and the GFF. The GFF must therefore make the first step towards bridging this gap.
3) Medical and General care. In future the GFF must show more care and concern when players get injured playing for Guyana. The Jermaine Brown issue where he was left in a hospital by the GFF to die in the late 90’s is well known. More recently Charles Pollard playing for Guyana in February this year. NO ONE FROM THE GFF CALLED to follow up on his welfare. All his medical expenses including a head scan were borne by Technical Director Jamaal Shabazz and his Club Caledonia AIA. No money was made available for medical supplies and this could be verified by technical staff members if they are honest.
Certainly medical care FOR PLAYERS is high on the agenda of FIFA.
4) Wishy Washy Arrangements – Poor approach to getting funding and tardiness by the GFF has caused training camps to be arranged in a wishy washy manner. FIFA Vice President Jack Warner, Guyanese in North America, England and other persons in T&T have had to rescue the team in basic matters like food, equipment and stipend.
On all occasions when the goodies arrive Mr. Klass shows up with a speech as if it were on his account that those things were provided and just talks about us having to win. Yes we want to win but winning is an all round mentality.
5) Equipment – Despite having a store room full of equipment donated from FIFA Vice President Jack Warner, Guyanese in North America and the English FA, we are forced to look substandard in our dress code and uniform. The modern game has risen to another level therefore how we look is just as important as how we behave and play. Because we do not play for ourselves we play for our Guyanese people home and abroad.
6) Facilities – The GFF must improve its attitude and desire to provide facilities for national teams to train. Even if they do not own a ground they have been too tardy in the past in acquiring venues for training causing the national teams to face embarrassment when it comes to practice sessions.
There are many more issues we would highlight in the coming weeks so as to show our commitment to improving Guyana’s football. If the GFF accepts responsibility for the above mentioned issues we are prepared to sit and talk to chart a way forward. If, however, the general council, the executive and the Government and people of Guyana allow us as players to be victimised by Mr. Klass, we are prepared for our careers to die as martyrs for Guyana’s football.
Signed
The Guyana National Team
Charles “Lily” Pollard-
John “JP” Rodrigues-
Collie “Hitman” Hercules-
Gregory “Jackie Chan” Richardson-
Richard Reynolds-
Andrew Durant-
Walter Moore-
Howard Lowe-
Randolph “Blackhead” Jerome-
Devon Millington-
Kestore “Shoes” Jacobs-
Dwain Jacobs-
Dwight Peters-
Jake Newton-
Howard Newton-
Chris Nurse-
Kayode McKinnon-
Shawn “Fatman” Bishop-
Carey Harris-
Shawn “Bubbley” Beveney-
