Notwithstanding the government decision to allow the resumption of sports subject to the Ministry of Health’s approval, Georgetown Football Association (GFA) Otis James, declared that the entity will not recommence and/or activate any activities for the remainder of the year.
According to James in an exclusive interview with Stabroek Sport, the association currently lacks the overall capacity to meet the requisite requirements and protocols sought by the Ministry of Health for the approval of sporting events.
He added that the aim is for the association to meet the requirements in the first quarter of 2021.
He added, “The GFA will not be activating itself this year, we cannot reach the requirements at this time, by now and February we should manage ourselves to meet every requirement.
The association, by itself, will not be taking advantage of this; hence we don’t have enough resources at this time to deal with tournaments this time of the year. It will also be in a rush and we are already in the 2021 planning mood.
We will see the GFA in full force sometime in 2021.”
James said that funding was also an issue but not the main one.
“Despite funding being an issue, one of the biggest challenges is dealing with the protocols of the Covid-19 situation. I don’t think we have the resources to deal with this at the time. It’s not about a sanitizer and a facemask, it’s about screening and testing and we are not equipped for that at the moment. Hopefully, by February, we will be and the GFA will be in full action then.”
The government’s new Covid-19 measures and guidelines allow for sport events to be staged once approval is sought and granted by the Ministry of Health.
The updated measures, which were issued in the Official Gazette on October 30th, took effect on November 1st and will remain in effect until November 30th, unless terminated prior, extended or amended by notice of the Minister of Health after an assessment of the prevailing public health situation. Organized sporting events have been cancelled since March of this year following the recording of the country’s first case and eventual mortality due to the virus.
According to James, no respective member association or the Guyana Football Federation (GFF) should stage any tournaments without the assistance of the Ministry of Health, as they lack the capacity on an individual scale to meet the requisite guidelines to ensure safety of the players.
He noted that unless, the aforementioned government entities are integrally involved in the staging of events, no football should be conceptualized for the remainder of the year.
“I don’t think it’s feasible for any association inclusive of the federation (GFF) to stage football but with the help of the government and the covid-19 Taskforce, anything could be possible where testing and screening is concerned.
The reason is that the Ministry of Health has the capacity and if they want sports to play at the year-end, they have the capacity. Unless the Ministry of Health and Covid-19 Taskforce is involved, we shouldn’t be thinking of playing any football.”
