Journalist and sports administrator Troy Peters has joined a growing number of concerned persons calling for the problems in football administration to be addressed and remedied.
Peters believes that the Guyana Football Federation (GFF) and the Georgetown Football Association (GFA) have to sit and resolve the impasse that is crippling the sport. He pointed out that the division between the two bodies has spread to the players, administrators, fans and even the sponsors.
He said that he has been covering football for the past 25 years and there have been worse problems but somehow they have always been resolved. He remembered when Guyana was banned by FIFA in 1988 when the national football team absconded and when there was a power struggle in the early 90s.
According to Peters too many officials have only been paying lip service concerning the resolution of the problems facing football in Guyana.
He questioned whether officials are serious “why aren’t the problems being solved,” adding that officials have to be honest.
Rapid strides
Guyana’s football on the field, especially with the national teams, has been making rapid strides, stated Peters and therefore this is not the time for officials to be going in different directions.
He reminded that Guyana’s FIFA’s ranking has improved (91st), players are getting contracts overseas and with Guyana’s most important World Cup Qualifier match in June against Mexico, it is time to put the interest of the game first.
He maintained that at the moment the football situation is an “unhealthy one” and the breakdown has caused things to go haywire. He used the analogy that there is one ball on the field of play and therefore there should be one family to hammer home this point.
He believes also that there is need for a conflict resolution body in Guyana or until such time, somebody to mediate to bring about some change.
Facilitate
He alluded to the intervention of Sport Minister Dr. Frank Anthony, not to take over as is the case with cricket but to facilitate as he had done last December with the GFA and GFF.
Commenting on the GFF/GFA impasse Peters said that everybody should be under the umbrella. Since it stands to reason that if this is the case, according to Peters, Guyana will have the best players, referees and venues and “this is what the fans want to see.”
Football, like cricket, has been mired in controversy for some time now and this has left member association GFA in the cold without any voting and constitutional rights.
This prompted the GFA to file court action against its parent body that halted GFF’s congress and elections last year and secured another injunction that prohibits the GFF from interfering in the affairs of the GFA.
Moreover, it is felt that the GFF is dragging its feet on coming to a consensus with the GFA, especially since it was reported by this publication that GFA’s position regarding pulling their court cases is with the GFF legal team.
Apart from these issues longstanding president Colin Klass was banned by FIFA’s Ethics Committee last year for his alleged role in the cash-for-vote scandal, instigated by former Asian football chief Mohammed Bin Hammam. GFF’s General Secretary Noel Adonis, who is back on the job, also suffered the same fate, except his ban lasted for only 30 days.
Things came to a head when the GFA held the inaugural Banks Knockout Football tournament to coincide with the Kashif and Shanghai tournament, which suffered a major blow as the usual crowds that throng the venues heeded a call to boycott the tournament by the youth arm of A Partnership for National Unity.
Instead, the fans braved the elements and inadequate accommodations and packed the Georgetown Football Club ground on January 1.
