Following the uncertainty surrounding the start of the Stag Elite League second season, Alpha United, Slingerz, Pele and Georgetown Football Club are requesting for the arbitration process to be commissioned to resolve the issues between the clubs and the federation.
According to a press release from the aforesaid foursome, “We are of the firm view that arbitration is necessary since repeated efforts by both the Elite League Clubs and the GFF to arrive at consensus that would allow for the commencement of the Stag Elite League have all proved unsuccessful, hence the reason we choose to follow the mechanism put in place via the rules and regulation of the Guyana Football Federation (GFF) to resolve all matters of concern”.
The primary conflict affecting the start of the sophomore season is the GFF’s decision to increase the membership of the tournament to ten teams without consulting with the other participants.
It was revealed that the Topp XX of Linden and the East Coast of Demerara team Victoria Kings were positioned to enter the league. The clubs argued the original contract signed under the Normalization Committee did not feature relegation or promotion until the end of the second season of the League, and that the process of increasing the number of teams is in fact an act of promotion.
The release further said that the clubs are requesting for equality to prevail and for the current executive body of the GFF to respect the constitution and the contract that was signed at the league’s formation between the participants and the then FIFA installed Normalization Committee.
Excerpts from the statement said “We are hopeful that this arbitration process would result in an agreement suitable to all parties so that our players and fans and by extension all, are winners and the beautiful game is returned on a path that will see Guyana really taking its place in the world sport”.
The correspondence said that as stakeholders, the vision of the sport and the interest of the players should be placed first, adding “This current situation that is ongoing does not benefit anyone, what it is really achieving is long term damage to the image of the sport as a result of poor judgement on the part of a few who do not really understand the implication (s) of this infringement that has been perpetrated against the Clubs and by extension all the affiliates of the GFF”.
“Once again, the Elite League Clubs are making a clarion call for arbitration to bring an end to the ongoing impasse which has already been affecting the players and their families in a huge way” it concluded.
