“Health is far more important that football”. Those were the sombre words of Terrence Mitchell, President of the Upper Demerara Football Association (UDFA) in relation to the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic.
Mitchell, who also holds the portfolio of Guyana Football Federation (GFF) Committee Member, echoed these sentiments during an exclusive interview with Stabroek Sport yesterday.
He stated, “We need health to be restored, we need to follow the procedures so we can eventually get back to normalcy. Football is not as important as health. Once health is restored football can play, if we don’t get healthy players and fans then the sport is in shambles. We need to return the situation to normalcy and fix it in terms of health.”
Mitchell further declared, “We will have a setback and the longer the situation persists the worst the setback will be for football. If we can get out of this situation soon, the less we will have to eventually deal with. We are looking to get out of this soon, not just for football but more importantly for the general public. Health is a universal language and is across all spectrums, if we have to shut down football for health, then so be it.”
According to Mitchell, the present situation and the eventual recovery will provide an expected setback for the discipline, as funding through corporate sponsorship might prove elusive, with companies attempting to recover from the financial losses incurred.
“They will be a setback for football, the sponsors will have financial issues and be reluctant as they are rebuilding. We have to wait and see how it goes from here”, he added. The UDFA has issued a blanket lockdown of the sport in the region, following a declaration from local governing body, the GFF. The federation’s decision came on the heels of local confederation CONCACAF, and world governing body FIFA’s move to suspend all competitions and programs in an effort to thwart the spread of the virus. Mitchell expounded, “There has been a total shutdown and the current situation has had a big impact on the whole nation, a rippling effect and everyone is suffering in the same way and there is no timeline for the recovery.” He revealed that the clubs under the umbrella of the association has been briefed on the ongoing situation, revealing that the entity maintains constant communication with the requisite individuals and clubs.
“We have spoken to them and let them know the situation based on the directives of the health community which the UDFA and the GFF is operating from. These are directives you have to follow from the Ministry of Public Health and the WHO”, he added.
Mitchell further disclosed, “Everyone and all the clubs know what they have to do, we are in constant communications with them as the communication channels are open. One for the executive and one for the general clubs and we tell them to do what the authorities and the health community says to do.”
