Ayn Rand, Russian-American writer and philosopher once stated, “Rationalization is a process of not perceiving reality, but of attempting to make reality fit one’s emotions.” This basically encapsulates the honed skill of making excuses. The word ‘emotions’, simply replaces ‘narrative’, which conveys an intended or fixed position.
This certainly can be localized. The acknowledgment by the Guyana Football Federation (GFF), of the issues which currently plague the Lady Jaguars’ programme, fits this narrative perfectly.
The Lady Jaguars, Guyana’s national senior women’s team, on Wednesday, April 7th, dispatched a letter to Minister of Culture, Youth and Sport Charles Ramson Jr, highlighting the unequal allocation of resources by the local governing entity to the programme. This is inclusive of non-payment of match fees for international fixtures.
According to the correspondence which was also sent to First Lady Arya Ali, “We are writing to express our frustrations around the unfair and inequitable distribution of resources and support provided to the female participants in comparison to our male counterparts. We feel the impact of years of systemic bias. We have been relegated to second-class citizens because of our gender even though our records and accomplishments are amongst the best across the Caribbean region.”
The federation, in a statement on April 9th, officially acknowledged the issues and said that it was committed to resolving all matters plaguing the programme. Frankly, this statement can be classified as nothing short of intellectual dishonesty.
Although it must be conceded that the current administration did inherit this culture when it took office in 2015, the fact that it continued must be condemned. It smacks of mediocrity, hypocrisy, and overall incompetence, and must be admonished. How can an administration claim to care about the issue of gender equality and not enact policies and structures to curb such a culture?
After all, in their own words via the press statement, “The Federation acknowledges that the members of the SWNT [Senior Women’s National Team] are not paid match fees. Accordingly, it is the Federation’s intention to develop a comprehensive compensation policy, consistent with international best practices. This policy will cover key areas such as out of pocket allowance, stipend, match fees, and bonuses, and is expected to be fully implemented ahead of the FIFA Women’s World Cup qualifiers in November of this year. It is apposite to note that there was a relaunch of women’s football in 2017. A critical element of the relaunch was the establishment of the International Support Group (ISG), based in North America that serves as the interface between the Federation and the international coaching staff and players. The ISG, which is composed of eminently qualified persons, plays a critical role in identification and selection of international players for the SWNT, as well as coordinating team camps and preparations. When the current Executive Committee took office in November 2015, it committed to completely restructuring the existing SWNT programme, in part to ensure that no financial burden would be transferred to players or parents in the future, as had been the case previously.”
While the acknowledgment of the issue by the football authorities is a start, given that a relaunch was initiated four years prior, why weren’t the aforementioned areas addressed before? The current administration cannot claim ignorance of a reality which existed and was simply allowed to continue, or perhaps was simply ignored for other reasons and agendas. It would seem that in the GFF’s realm, it is still a man’s world.
Also worrying is the fact that the National Women’s Football Association (NAWF) leadership has been silent for years on this matter. How much longer would the situation have continued, if it were not brought to the forefront by brave members of the Lady Jaguars? The current head of the association, which has regressed into nothing more than a member of a voting bloc, was a pivotal member of many Lady Jaguars’ campaigns in a management team capacity.
Despite being elected to the helm of an important institution, the NAWF and its leadership failed to represent the interests of their constituents. One can only wonder why, and what this says to women who are currently involved and/or harbour intentions of contributing to the development of the discipline.
If this had occurred in a country of football relevance, which Guyana is not and seems unlikely to ever be given its travails, calls for resignations would have reached fever pitch. But this is Guyana, where incompetence is expected and excuses are the native language.
Given the years since the relaunch of the programme, was the recent GFF statement simply to placate the masses who have condemned the current administration’s marginalization and utter disrespect of the Lady Jaguars? How could a senior women’s football team which has historically outperformed their male counterparts, not be paid for their services in representation of this nation? How could the GFF not be aware that the programme was inadequately funded, and the players not paid?
The men are paid pittances, but the women are not even afforded crumbs. This is absolutely shameful especially as the federation claims to be leading in the fight for gender equality. Obviously, their actions do not correlate with their words.
It is time for the GFF to disclose all financial benefits, remunerations and packages associated with both programmes as it begins to make amends. On another note, what is the situation with the Keith O’Jeer inappropriate conduct matter?
