Cougars Football Club along with Paradise, Monnederlust and New Amsterdam Football Clubs have written the Guyana Football Federation (GFF) protesting the results of Saturday’s Berbice Football Association’s (BFA) elections.
Two clubs Rosignol United and Corriverton Links voted to reelect Keith O’Jeer as president.
The remaining four clubs were not allowed to vote as they were found not to be in good standing by the returning officer Lawrence Griffith.
The four clubs are protesting the results of the elections on the grounds that the elections should have been postponed given that the BFA itself was not in good standing in that it failed to produce its audited financial statement.
O’Jeer asked and was granted until May to produce the financial statement despite the fact that the statement should be in place before the GFF elections on April 12.
Phillip Carrington, president of Cougars Football Club, told this newspaper on Monday that he had sent via email, a copy of the protest along with a hard copy to GFF General Secretary Noel Adonis. Adonis said he had received a letter from the Carrington but was yet to see the hard copy.
He nevertheless said that he is still awaiting reports from the returning officers and two other officials who were present to see if there was any contradiction before a pronouncement is made.
Adonis said that he is likely to make a pronouncement on the matter by tomorrow.
On Monday, Adonis told this publication the reports should have been in and reviews done with information available yesterday on the legality of the Guyana National Women’s Football Association (GNWFA) and the BFA.
Asked who were the other two four officials who are also to submit reports on the two elections, Adonis said he preferred not give their names.
Carrington said the clubs are seeking clarity from both the GFF and the Electoral Commission on the matter of the BFA elections.
“Because we are confident that these elections should be ruled null and void,” he declared.
Carrington said it is his hope that the BFA is not at loggerheads with the GFF over a simple matter that could be resolved.
“In the best interest of football we don’t want it to go back to the state it was two months ago where we had the problems with the GFF and the GFA in putting their houses in order and where FIFA and CONCACAF had to step in, because we just want the game to remain a beautiful game and clubs and members should not be disenfranchised in support of one individual’s personal agenda and interest.”
He said too that this matter could have been avoided if the GFF had a more hands on approach to the development of the sport.
“So the short comings are not just by the clubs in the BFA but also coming from the higher body.”
He said that GFF Vice President Dwayne Lovell, who was at the meeting, is on the slate of GFF presidential hopeful Alfred King. King apart from being President of the Guyana Referees Council is also Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sports.
“Mr. Dwayne Lovell Vice President of the Guyana Football Federation he was mandated to overlook development of football in Berbice football association and the only time he was seen or met in Berbice was on election day. He was solely responsible for the development of football in Berbice, he is the liaison person and he has never visited Berbice before to deal with football development. He never attended a general council meeting or a special committee meeting and maybe if he was doing his job we would not have been having these problems in the BFA,” charged Carrington a former national goalkeeper.
