funding programme at Ordinary Congress
The Guyana Football Federation (GFF) officially passed the Members Financial Assistance Programme yesterday at its Ordinary Congress held at the Savannah Suite, Le Meridien Pegasus Hotel.
Speaking to media operatives at the end of the forum, GFF president Wayne Forde said, “That’s a new funding programme that we’ve launched and they have also approved the regulations which have a bit of compliance requirements for the Regional Associations, their affiliates and the Elite League Clubs who will be entitled now to significant funding and equipment support, but the compliance part of it is very, very rigid.”
Each member association will now pocket $50,000 monthly. The annual funding, which is tailored for operational costs, will be paid every sixth months. The Member Associations will also receive competition funding for their U17, U20 and female programmes.
Forde also disclosed that the initiative has already been implemented and that several associations have already received funding.
“We have already implemented it last year, where our members would’ve already received the first tranche of their payments and we have been awaiting the approval today before the other payments were made to the associations,” he said.
According to Forde, funding for the senior leagues of the associations will also be funded under a solitary umbrella, adding that this mechanism will provide for better organizational control and greater input into the hosting of the events.
He elaborated, “We will also allocate funding for their senior leagues, which will be staged under a single umbrella, which will be named the National League in the future. That way, we can manage the quality control and we will have a greater input as to how those senior men’s leagues are organised.”
Meanwhile, the GFF boss praised the staging of the important forum, noting that the work conducted by the federation throughout the year must be commended.
“We’ve made some very important decisions and we’ve been able to share some of the plans to bring football into operation in 2021,” he said.
According to Forde, the federation is optimistic of the climate for 2021 despite the prevailing health crisis due to the expected impact of the UEFA influenced ‘Bounceback’ initiative.
“We’re very optimistic about the improving situation across Guyana and we look forward to getting back to on-field activities within the context of our ‘Bounceback’ programme that we’ve been preparing in partnership with UEFA and I would like to encourage our members, that until such time that the requisite approval has been granted from the COVID-19 Task Force, that we continue to be safe, and to operate within the guidelines that would’ve been issued by the authorities.”
He affirmed that a minor amendment was made to the constitution, which allows for the staging of the congress virtually, and mirrors the adjustments and alterations made by the world body FIFA.
Meanwhile, laptops were gifted to the respective member associations in a bid to aid their effectiveness and efficiency in administering their mandate.
