By Marlon Munroe
The Guyana Football Federation (GFF) has partnered with the Kashif and Shanghai organization to stage a double-header benefit football match on February 21 at the Georgetown Cricket Club (GCC) ground to assist the people of Haiti after they were hit by a 7.0 earthquake on January 12.
The earthquake, which has affected an estimated three million people with Prime Minister Jean-Max Bellerive declaring on February 3 that some 200,000 people had been identified as dead, was the worst in over half a century. An estimated 300,000 injured persons have been treated.
Yesterday at a press briefing at the GFF office federation president Colin Klass stated that the local football fraternity feels obligated to contribute to “our football brothers and sisters in Haiti after the loss they suffered.”
It is estimated that 30 persons from the Haitian Football Federation (HFF) are dead and dozens more unaccounted for based on the report by Caribbean Football Union Vice President Captain Horace Burrell.
Burrell was dispatched to Haiti to meet with HFF head Yves Jean Bart and wrote the report to FIFA Vice President Jack Warner after an assessment.
Klass revealed that the world governing body FIFA has made contributions to aid Haiti’s recovery cause. And it was only fitting that the local body do its bit, along with the K&S organisation, to help its sister country that is rated number two in the CFU rankings.
“We believe that we in some way or the other can also contribute and as such we have agreed that on February 21st we will have a match at the GCC ground. We believe that we should be a part of the assistance towards helping our brothers to regain their footing,” Klass said.
The first match of the night from 18:00 hours will be between Pele and Topp XX while the feature match will feature K&S 2009 champions and runner-up teams BK International Western Tigers and Alpha ‘The Hammer’ United respectively.
According to co-director of the K&S organisation Kashif Muhammad, other teams have indicated their interest in participating but they settled for the four since they are the top ranked teams.
Klass said that all the monies that will be made from this venture will be delivered when he attends the football congress in Trinidad & Tobago from February 24-28.
On the other hand, Muhammad said that they are looking to raise as much money as possible for the people of Haiti. He noted that no cost was attached for the use of the venue and he is hoping that all the persons and institutions that the K&S organisation has done business with over the years will follow the pattern of the GCC.
“We really appreciate that spirit and hope that all the other persons that surround football can come on board and give us this assistance,” Muhammad said.
He wants for instance the lighting company and referees to volunteer their services free of cost, while urging the public to come out in their numbers.
He said that he wants a tangible amount of money to reach the people of Haiti.
“We have not set any benchmarks but all the monies that come in at the gate will be donated to the Haiti Football Federation,” the organiser stated.
While admission into the ground is free there will be donation boxes at the ground for persons at the venue and a receipt will be given to the patrons who make donations.