The Guyana Football Federation (GFF) on Monday selected the eight clubs that have qualified for the recently implemented Confederation of North, Central America and Caribbean Association Football (CONCACAF) Elite Club License.
According to reliable sources within the federation, CONCACAF Club Licensing Manager Andres Portabella was part of a two-member delegation to local shores to help guide the initiation of the procedure and to meet the successful clubs.
The sources disclosed that the Georgetown Football Association (GFA) leads the count with five clubs while the West Demerara Football Association (WDFA), East Demerara Football Association (EDFA) and the Berbice Football Association (BFA) has one club each.
The eight clubs which will be eligible to compete in the Elite League are Alpha United, Bakewell Slingerz, the Guyana Defence Force (GDF), Pele FC, Georgetown Football Club (GFC), Monedderlust FC, Buxton United and Fruta Conquerors.
The clubs who were unsuccessful in their application for a license were Topp XX of the Upper Demerara Football Association (UDFA), Victoria Kings of the ECFA and Riddim Squad of the GFA.
The committee which was responsible for reviewing the necessary documentation submitted by the teams and making the required recommendations, was be headed by Licensing Manager Lawrence Griffith with the other members being Robert Fernandes Jr., Kashif Muhammad, Rawlston Adams, Franklin Wilson, Richard Groden and Diedre Davis.
According to information, while the Elite League will fall under the umbrella of the federation, the participating clubs will be integrally involved in the decision making process as several committees will be commissioned that will be made up of the aforesaid clubs.
The CONCACAF Club Licensing System falls under the FIFA Licensing system and is based on five core criteria which are Sporting, Personnel and Administrative, Financial, Infrastructure and Legal.
These fundamental criterias are further broken into several sub-criteria, most of which must be fulfilled in order to qualify for the important continental certification.
The certification is to safeguard the credibility and integrity of the club tournaments while improving the overall level of professionalism within sport. It is also implemented to promote transparency in the ownership, finances and overall control of clubs.
According to FIFA, the adaptation of the club licensing policy at the zonal and member association level is a long term initiative that is geared towards providing vital necessities and minimum standards to enhance the quality of club competitions.
