Chairman of the Guyana Football Federation (GFF) Normalisation Committee Clinton Urling said yesterday that he is unsure if the FIFA-appointed entity can and will complete its mandate of restructuring Guyana’s football landscape before the stipulated September deadline. Installed in the month of October 2014, the Normalization Committee’s main objective is to reform the constitution of the GFF and all its affiliates before the aforesaid deadline.
To date, only a new GFF constitution has been adopted following an Extraordinary Congress held on June 26 with the process to reform the body’s now 22 affiliates yet to commence. Upon the completion of the affiliates’ reform procedure, elections for the GFF will be held.
Speaking at a press conference at the GFF headquarters yesterday, Urling declared that in his view he is uncertain if the body can complete the mandate of structuring the constitutions of its affiliates as well as the staging of the respective elections during the period.
He declared that while it was not impossible for the task to be completed in the timeframe, the amending of each respective association’s constitution to come in line with the federation’s and the staging of the elections will be a time-consuming process especially since the Normalisation Committee must serve as the electoral committee at each election.
“Looking at it from my standpoint, I’m not optimistic that it could happen. We have prepared a draft which will now be given to the members. Remember, the Normalisation Committee is the electoral body for all these elections; not just at the GFF level, but for our member associations as well,” he added.
According to Urling, while constitutional reform is integral to the development of the sport, government financial support is of similar importance.
He declared that Guyana needs to adopt a similar model to the ones utilized by the governments of Jamaica and Trinidad and Tobago. Urling noted that while the government has supported the federation since the committee’s creation, more needs to be done from a financial perspective. “I know people like to use comparative examples with what Jamaica is doing in the Gold Cup and what Trinidad is doing in the Gold Cup and these guys are phenomenal and yet Guyana can’t get there because Guyana has all these issues.”
According to Urling, one of the main vehicles for those countries success is the financial support they receive from the government.
“Without the government’s financial support it will be pretty difficult for us to run a sustainable league, not just a one-off league,” he posited.
“So I’m appealing to government to come onboard with the Guyana Football Federation and help to fund our entire developmental programme, inclusive of our Elite League, and the Providence Centre in terms of infrastructure,” he added. Asked how confident he is that FIFA will rule in their favour against St. Vincent and the Grenadines for allegedly fielding an ineligible player, Urling said that he was very confident. He said if that was not the case the federation would not have filed the complaint in the first place.
According the Urling, the audited financial statements of 2014 will also be made known at the upcoming GFF Congress to the affiliates while the statements from the previous years will be featured on the federation’s website for analysis.
Quizzed about the status of the GFF Elite League, Committee Member and Head of the Competitions Committee Tariq Williams stated that the league could commence in either late August or the early September period.
Williams said that the Competitions Committee is currently in the process of structuring the league and its regulations. He declared that a draft of the proposed structure and regulations was completed yesterday and will be sent to CONCACAF for their overall approval to ensure it was in accordance with other countries who have a similar setup.
He also noted that the issue of sponsorship is also being discussed, stating that while the GFF has to put forward a certain amount to help in the financing of the event, assistance is also being sought from the government and the private sector.
According to Williams, the GFF’s official Kit Provider, Sports Supplier Admiral, is expected on local shores shortly to meet the eight teams that will be a part of the league to possibly finalize a kit sponsorship arrangement.
He added that once those issues are sorted out, the federation will be in a better position to disclose the exact date of the league’s commencement.
