By Iva Wharton
Football clubs participating in the Georgetown Football Association’s Banks DIH President’s Beer League stand to benefit financially, according to Kwabina Griffith, Vice-President with responsibilities for Technical and Tactical Development.
The association, he said, has reached an agreement that it will be awarding a percentage of the gate receipts to the clubs, in addition to the prize money.
“Is it fair to seventeen clubs to compete in a competition, receive gate receipts and based on the participation of these seventeen clubs, only four clubs get a financial benefit,” Griffith questioned.
Players and clubs, he said, should not be exploited. “It does not happen, should not happen. Because if it was only these four clubs that deserve money, then run your competition with just four clubs.”
However, the percentage will be worked out by the Football Council, “and we are going to encourage clubs, we are going to find a mechanism to try and get clubs to sell tickets. Because they know that for each ticket they sell part of that money goes back into their pocket.”
This, he maintained, is one way of empowering the clubs.
According to Griffith it is very unfair for only security guards, linesmen, referees, music operators and the top four teams to benefit financially.
Clubs, he observed, have lost enough during the two years’ absence of the GFA and the impact has been tremendous.
“Let me tell you something, I am also president of Santos Football Club and every day the players were asking when we are going to play football.”
Although there is no organised football competition, expenses are incurred. “There is no competition, but you still have to pay coaches, still have to wash your gear, still provide transportation for players to and from practice and all of this was going on for eighteen months. With no competition or any way of winning any prize money in an attempt to recoup some of these costs.”
Moreover, he pointed out, it is known that when players are not playing skills will drop and therefore clubs now have to put in extra work to ensure that the quality of football their players play is of a high standard.
