The Guyana Football Federation (GFF) has taken a decision to go ahead and stage the second annual Elite league tournament following discussions with its parent body.
According to a press release, the GFF arrived at the decision to go ahead and stage the tournament “after consultations with the relevant regulatory bodies of FIFA and CONCACAF.”
The decision was also supported by the GFF’s constitution, stated the release.
The Elite League will commence November 13 at the Demerara Cricket Club ground, the release stated.
According to the release, the delay in commencement of the league resulted from the objection by some clubs at the decision of the GFF to increase the number of participating clubs from eight to 10.
According to the GFF release, the clubs had objected to the increase in the number of teams on the basis of a contract between the Normalization Committee of the GFF and the clubs which stipulated that there would be no relegation and promotion for a two-year period.
However the GFF, in its release, stated that there was never any such contract nor stipulation.
“There was no contract. Instead there were regulations for the 2015–2016 season and these do not constitute a contract. This was made clear by CONCACAF,” stated the GFF release. “The regulations are not a contract. The regulations are issued on the sole authority of the GFF Executive Committee based on the power conferred by the Statutes. That being said, the GFF Executive Committee has the authority to modify the Competition Regulations and would be entitled to add additional clubs with a purely sporting objective,” the release added.
Another contentious issue was the outsourcing of Game Day management to clubs that own venues.
According to the GFF release, “Most venue-owning clubs have indicated a willingness to execute this activity; one is reviewing the proposal. The objective of this proposal is to allow clubs the opportunity to earn and reinvest the money in their growth and in other development programmes.”
According to the release, the clubs claimed that they were not consulted on the additional rules and regulations.
However, the GFF in the release stated that correspondence was sent to all stakeholders of the Elite League on June, 15, 2016, requesting written Elite League Review submissions which would be used to inform upcoming Review Meetings and that submissions were received from the League Management Team on 24th June, 2016, COURTS Guyana
Incorporated on 24th June, 2016, and Fruta Conquerors FC on 27th June, 2016.
Submissions were later received from Buxton United FC and Georgetown Football Club.
“No other stakeholder has submitted a Review Report,” the release stated.
