Dear Editor,
An article in your newspaper captioned, ‘26 players shortlisted for French Guiana U15 Football tourney’ refers.
It’s good that the GFF will be participating in the French Guiana International U15 Football Champion-ship from December 17 to 22 featuring participation from several countries and clubs. That is good for exposure and nurturing home grown talent, but in today’s modern world of football, I am inquiring why a two-day trial involving 74 players was necessary to shortlist a squad of 26 players.
Were the trials an act of appeasement to delinquent associations which for a year or more have not organized an U15 competition? Is it justifiable for the GFA to lead the shortlisted players with a total of 9, when this is not compatible with domestic activity at the youth level? Rupununi has 5; East Bank and East Demerara, 4 each; Berbice 2 and Bartica and Upper Demerara, 1 each. Surprisingly, West Demerara failed to produce a solitary player. This in my estimation is unjustifiable, since that association’s level of domestic activity is surpassed by no more than 2 other associations. By the way, would there be a coordinated effort with the various schools via the Ministry of Education to ascertain the attendance, punctuality and grades of the final 16 players?
What is the position as it relates to the GFA/NAMILCO Under-17 Inter-Club Competition? The other affiliates have regular matches on a weekly basis.
Yours faithfully,
Lester Sealey