The Guyana Football Federation (GFF) Normalization Committee is set to officially begin the process of constitutional reform today at the Guyana Olympic Association headquarters in Kingston.
The process, which is expected to last over two days, will be facilitated by several International Federation of Association Football (FIFA) and Confederation of North, Central American and Caribbean Association Football (CONCACAF) representatives. FIFA Head of Member Association Primo Corvaro will head the process.
Speaking anonymously to Stabroek Sports, a source within the GFF, said several changes and possible amendments to the constitution could be on the agenda. The source said that there needs to be clarification on what constitutes full membership of associations, adding that the ambiguity within the rules need to be ironed out.
According to the source, the constitution has nothing on player contracts or transfers.
“It also needs to redefine in line with the CONCACAF club licensing which constitutes a club. We don’t have clubs we have teams. We don’t meet the criteria of a club,” the source said. Asked about the ratification of laws targeting the standing of Interim Management Committees (IMC), the source “The constitution makes no provisions for IMC. There is no part in the constitution that speaks for IMC. The constitution speaks to certain rights and obligations. There is no constitutional position for IMC’s.
“The only way you lose those rights is if you fail to fulfil those obligations and you are suspended or expelled. Then to suspend and expel, there is process, it’s not automatic,” the source said.
According to source, while increasing of the electorate body is a possibility, affiliates of the federation should not be allowed to vote due to their lack of autonomy. “You have the affiliates who are more entwined to the entity. They don’t carry the degree of semi-autonomy like the association. Their development is incumbent upon the federation while the association has more autonomy. If they (affiliates) are allowed to vote, they should have the same level of autonomy like the associations” said the source.
The source further said an area of the constitution which should also be considered for amending is the term limit for executives, hinting that term limits should be the same across the board at every single level. (Duncan Saul)
