Fruta Conquerors head coach Calvin Allen said he is disappointed with the Georgetown Football Association (GFA) for the lack of competitive football as the association’s mandate is for the playing of the sport at all age groups.
Speaking exclusively with Stabroek Sports, Allen said: “Personally I think it’s in a mess and I think the executives of the GFA need to have football played. Whatever difficulties they are facing they should find a way to work it out so football can be played because the EBFA has been playing at all levels. The same goes for the ECFA, Berbice, West Demerara and now Linden started their programme.”
He added: “We are way behind and we haven’t had a senior tournament outside the Namilco tournament that was completed for the year. We have absolutely nothing for the youths other than the u-17 league which is yet to resume. Georgetown is where the heart of football should be, the lion’s share of players belong to Georgetown.”
According to Allen “After a wonderful 2014 FIFA World Cup qualifying campaign and the success of Alpha United in the CFU and CONCACAF, we should be looking to build on it but we are stagnant. Politically which I am not into, the GFA has some problems but at the end of the day once football is not played, we are not doing anything.”
Questioned why the association is in its current state, he said:” I think we have self-opinionated persons who focus on what they need and not what is best for football. I am asking the GFA President and Secretary to sit down and have a serious look at the affairs and find a way to resolve the problems we are facing.
“I am appealing to the executives in Georgetown to get their act together, put their wise heads together and let football play. We need football to be played at all levels because at the end of the day, I am not comfortable getting paid to coach a team and the team is not getting to play.”
Questioned if he agreed with the recent decisions and direction taken by the GFA, Allen said: “Of course not. I don’t have all the facts at hand but I am not in agreement with everything they are doing. From the little I know, I am not in agreement with everything they do but I am not in the position to say who is right or who is wrong because I don’t have all the facts at hand.
“At the end of the day, I would like to know that the GFA and everybody in involved in football focus on what is important and that is football and football being played on a regular basis”.
“I would also like to congratulate the Alpha United football club and coaching staff for a wonderful job in the CONCACAF Champions League and to encourage the coach to not be disheartened with the results but use it as a stepping stone,” he added.
