The Georgetown Football Association (GFA) and the West Demerara Football Association (WDFA), have presented financial vouchers and hampers respectively to select players after receiving Covid-19 financial relief aid from the Guyana Football Federation (GFF).
This was revealed yesterday by GFA President Otis James and WDFA General Secretary Adrian Giddings. According to James, the association received $200,000 in aid on Friday July 10th, which was used to create vouchers for the most vulnerable players under the entity’s umbrella.
He elaborated, “The GFA received approximately GYD$200,000 from the federation towards relief for the members of the association. The monies were converted in vouchers and given to the most vulnerable players in the GFA. We made the donations to both male and female players. We also gave to mothers who are from the respective clubs. The entire money received was converted into vouchers of $5000 each.”
According to James, the decision to convert the money into vouchers was premised on the fact that various individuals will have different needs and essentials during this ongoing pandemic.
He added, “We didn’t know the needs of the recipients so we decided to use this method so they can go to the supermarket and pick what they wanted. You don’t estimate the needs of people, that’s what we thought and for us that was the smartest and safest way.”
James further said, “On behalf of the executive committee and membership of the GFA, we would like to thank the GFF for their timely donation.” Similarly, Giddings confirmed the receipt of vouchers during the latter stages of June as part of the federation’s covid-19 relief effort.
He revealed that, “We basically received 40 hampers and the value for one was around $5000. It was the actual hamper and not the voucher. We had to recommend the supermarkets and the funds were deposited into their account and then the players would use their identification cards and uplift them. In the case of an underage player, the parent or guardian would have to accompany them because they don’t have ID.”
According to Giddings, the GFF should be praised for the gesture especially given the current climate of Covid-19.
He added, “It was a very smooth process, the players and the parents were very happy to receive these hampers. It was very commendable from the GFF especially when you feel that everything is against you.”
