The GFF staged its Ordinary Congress on Saturday at the Arthur Chung Convention Centre, Liliendaal, with the main announcement being that the investigation into the switched 2012 Mexico World Cup Qualifier didn’t discover any evidence of criminal misconduct by the then Executive Committee.
This was disclosed by an official release from the GFF. According to the correspondence, “The issues addressed in that resolution were: [a]. No evidence was discovered to indicate the reason for the sale of hosting rights or that the decision to play the game in the USA was the collective will of the GFF. Notwithstanding, the investigation did not discover any evidence of criminal misconduct by the GFF Executive Committee (ExCo).”
“An ongoing investigation is being conducted by a consultant who is scheduled to provide a fact-finding dossier including any future action which will be required. To date, several persons have been interviewed and financial documents submitted including GFF’s audit reports, reflecting transactions processed during the period under investigation.”
The release did not disclose the names of the individuals that were interviewed, nor/or the name of the consultant tasked with overseeing the process.
The highly anticipated fixture which was slated to occur on local soil during 2012 at the National Stadium, Providence on October 12th, was controversially switched by the federation to Houston, Texas, USA.
It was initially mooted to be staged at the University of Phoenix Stadium, Phoenix, Arizona, prior to its ultimate venue. Current East Bank Football Association [EBFA] Boss Franklyn Wilson was the acting GFF President who signed off on the controversial switch, which allegedly garnered the federation less than US$80,000.
The correspondence further disclosed, “[b]. The players’ decision to negotiate a profit-sharing agreement outside of their tournament compensation schedule on the eve of the game was inappropriate and done in bad faith. Additionally, the investigation did not discover any evidence that a binding legal contract for profit sharing existed between the GFF and the players. [c]. In recognition of the country’s progress to that stage of the World Cup qualification process, an ex gratia payment of five hundred United States dollars will be made to each player who was registered to play in that October 12, 2012 game. [d]. Even though the GFF considers this matter officially closed, the ExCo reserves the right to investigate any new evidence brought to its attention in the future.”
Meanwhile, the other significant resolution that was unanimously passed was the amendment of Article 10 [b] of the federation’s constitution. The initial statute stated that the Eight Elite League Clubs would form part of the GFF’s membership.
Instead that was corrected to the Elite League Clubs will form part of the membership, fixing the flaw which occurs when clubs are relegated and subsequently promoted.
The release added, “The resolution further stipulated that: [a]. There will be a system of promotion and relegation of one club in the Elite League at the conclusion of each Elite League Competition. [b]. The champion club at the National Association Qualification playoff will be promoted to the Elite League while the lowest placed club in the Elite League will be relegated to the Regional Association upon ratification by Congress.”
According to the release, GFF Boss Wayne Forde thanked the membership for their respective contributions in advancing the discipline, adding that football currently enjoys a remarkable period of stability and progress in every department on and off the field.
