General Secretary of the Guyana Football Federation (GFF) Diedre Davis said the international tender process has been completed for the FIFA Goal Project and the process has realized two very close bids.
In an invited comment Davis yesterday told Stabroek Sport, “Yes, FIFA sent an email today (yesterday) to say they have closed the process and are considering two very close bids. Even though the process has been closed, they have not identified to us who has been selected.”
The international bidding process was launched in January by FIFA and the bids were to be sent to Zurich, headquarters of the world governing body.
Asked if there is a timetable for the successful bid to be announced by FIFA, Davis said:“We are hoping that in another two weeks it will be known but it’s very difficult to say because we don’t play any part in that process.”
Following the announcement of the successful bidder work is expected to get underway at the 8.5 acres Providence Centre lot which was leased by the GFF for 30 years and the project is expected to be completed in four years.
“The first phase of the project may begin this year but a lot still has to be done prior to the groundwork. FIFA still has to award the project to someone and a contract has to be signed.”
The facility, which will be constructed at the Providence Community Centre Ground, will be done in two phases, the first phase of the project will be the installation of an artificial turf and the second phase will see infrastructure such as stands, lights, beach, Futsal training pitches, mini pitches and an administrative centre for the headquarters of the GFF being established.
Former head of the GFF Normalization Committee Chief Clinton Urling had brokered an agreement between the GFF and the Eccles/Ramsburg Neighbourhood Democratic Council (NDC) for the location and was granted a 30 year lease for the land.
The saga of Guyana’s first FIFA funded football facility has been long and tortuous with many stops and starts in the 17 years since Guyana was first identified as one of the countries to benefit from a US$400,000 football facility.
In 1999, Guyana, Belize, the Bahamas, Nicaragua and St Lucia were listed as countries to benefit from FIFA’s new initiative, the ‘Goal Project’ and two years later, former FIFA president Sepp Blatter visited Guyana for the historic turning of the sod for what was thought to be this country’s first football stadium on land under the control of the University of Guyana.
But, in one of the most embarrassing moments in this country’s football history the sod was never turned.
Blatter was to later inform media operatives here that FIFA does not build stadia.
The building of stadia, he had declared, was the responsibility of governments.
This was in stark contrast to what the then government had been told which was that FIFA was going to fund the stadium at a cost of US$20m.
Ten years later at a FIFA Congress in The Bahamas, disgraced former FIFA vice president Jack Warner told Stabroek Sport that he was disappointed with the fact that Guyana had yet to acquire the facility.
“One would have thought by now [Guyana] would have been on their third goal programme as many other countries have been and therefore there is some disappointment,” Warner had said.
“But having said that I’m heartened by the fact that I am now seeing a little light at the end of the tunnel and therefore I am quite sanguine, quite optimistic that in the next few months Guyana and to a lesser extent Antigua and Barbuda will be on track.”
In 2009 it was announced that Alki Investment and Trading Company Inc., had won the bid to construct the facility at Orangestein, East Bank Essequibo and that the project was scheduled to commence in November of that year.
Alki Investment Inc. would be responsible for the construction of the US$400,000 facility located at Orangestein, East Bank Essequibo and Klass speaking with Stabroek Sport yesterday said, “Well actually, they received their 10% of the money today (yesterday),” Klass had told Stabroek Sport in February of 2010.
Following Klass’ removal from office in the wake of the infamous cash for votes scandal which also toppled head of the Caribbean Football Union (CFU) and CONCACAF, Franklin Wilson, then the most senior vice president of the GFF assumed the post of GFF president and in 2013 managed to receive a commitment from FIFA for US$500,000 for the same project.
Wilson was replaced by Christopher Matthias who subsequently decided that the Orangestein Project was not feasible and sought a plot of land behind the Synthetic Track at Leonora and FIFA subsequently replaced Matthias by the Urling led Normalisation Committee, which then brokered the deal for the land at Providence.
