Herbert McPherson, head coach of East Coast Demerara giant Buxton United is blaming the Covid-19 pandemic for the fact that the club failed to acquire the services of any player during the recent Guyana Football Federation (GFF) 2020/2021 Pre-Season Transfer Window.
According to McPherson in an exclusive interview with Stabroek Sport ysterday, the just concluded transfer period didn’t increase or decrease the club’s playing roster, as no player arrived or departed from the Elite League outfit.
“Players didn’t come to the club and players didn’t leave the club in the previous window. We have not done any transfers, we didn’t do any,” he declared.
McPherson opined that the current covid-19 pandemic certainly played a major role in affecting the acquisition of players.
“Yes I believe the current situation affected players coming to the club,” he said adding that the nonexistence of football, which is a direct result of the current health crisis, also impeded the club’s intentions and focus during the period.
“That was exactly the idea. We don’t have any football coming and it didn’t look proper to focus on transfers and the whole focus moved away from that,” he said.
He noted that the uncertainty surrounding the restart of the sport, which seems unlikely for the remainder of the year, was addressed by the GFF via a series of meetings in an attempt to create plans for a possible commencement.
However, McPherson admitted that while the entire football fraternity currently awaits the approval of the National Taskforce, it seems unlikely that such an endorsement will be forthcoming in the current climate.
He elaborated, “At the moment everything is at a standstill. We are just hoping and waiting because nothing isn’t going on. The GFF was looking to restart football. We had been to a few meetings weeks earlier and had identified plans for events but everything at the moment rests on the situation and the national taskforce giving permission but that seems unlikely.”
The GFF 2020/2021 Pre-Season Transfer Window officially concluded August 23rd. The original transfer period occurred from June 1st-July 31st. The window was extended in an effort to facilitate the smooth transfer of local players between during the covid-19 pandemic.
The decision to extend the transfer period which was endorsed by FIFA Director of Football Regulatory James Kitching, was established following deliberations with its regional member associations, affiliates and elite league clubs.
