The Guyana Football Federation (GFF) on Saturday published the official rulebook for the recently enacted Members Financial Assistance Programme (M-FAP), paving the way for members to apply for funding using a mechanism that mirrors FIFA’s global funding structure.
This is, according to a release from the federation.
Under the M-FAP, members of the federation are entitled to support in several areas, administration and operations, equipment and materials, competitions and technical development, and infrastructure.
For Regional Associations, $600,000 GYD annually is penciled for admin operations, while affiliates are entitled to $500,000 GYD each per year for a development project. Similarly, Elite League clubs can access $400,000 GYD each per year for equipment and development.
“On an annual basis, each regional association will also receive 100 footballs, 100 cones, 100 training hurdles and 100 bibs. Every two years, regional associations will receive two sets of senior home and away kits and two sets of junior home and away kits, for males and females. This equipment is intended to support the proper running of the GFF Academy Training Centres, and other development competitions and activities.
Regional Association will also receive funding for their Senior Men and Women leagues and Boys and Girls competitions,” the release stated.
GFF President Wayne Forde said, “M-FAP is a watershed moment for the development of football in Guyana and for the empowerment of our entire membership – it has the potential to transform the game forever. This rulebook spells out what funding is available and how our membership can apply for support in areas such as the day-to-day running of a regional association, ensuring there is adequate equipment for training and development activities, enhancing grounds and staging Competitions.”
He added, “We are very attentive to the needs of our members and have developed the M- FAP programme to meet those needs and mitigate the challenges that have stymied progress at the regional associations in particular.”
The aim of the initiative, announced at the December 2020 Ordinary Congress, is to democratise funding from the FIFA Forward Programme and to give members access to greater financial support, while still retaining the power to tailor the requisite support to specific needs.
“This programme was built with safeguards to ensure that every member is afforded fair and equitable access to resources. However, in order to be a part of this pioneering funding programme, all members must adhere to strict compliance rules and regulations to ensure the effective and efficient use of funds. This will be closely monitored by the GFF throughout as part of our efforts to enhance the good governance of football across Guyana”, Forde said.
All funding requests and activations must be managed in strict compliance with M-FAP regulations and GFF oversight protocols, which mirrors FIFA’s own structure in ensuring the proper, accountable and transparent use of financial support.
