Elections are always a divisive period in our local existence. Although often viewed as a beacon for national unification, sport, regrettably, is not immune from such a discordant reality in its attempts to elect an administration.
Guyana’s political and racial landscape has ensured the aforementioned; that every sector should be viewed as means for conquest, with power and control the ultimate bounty.
American author Cal Thomas once stated “One of the reasons people hate politics is that truth is rarely a politician’s objective. Election and power are.” Similarly, Otto von Bismarck, Former Minister President of Prussia, said, “People never lie so much as after a hunt, during a war or before an election.
Sport administrators are the new-age politicians, and because of this unwarranted correlation, sports are often saddled with administrators, who lack the intellectual sap required to chart a course of positive development.
Football has often attracted this spectrum of silver tongued talents. However, one group has often risen above the undercurrent of political machinations to chart a developmental resume that is second to none.
They are the Petra Organization. Named after an architectural city in Jordan, the Petra Organization is synonymous with football development, a label which illustrates their leadership acumen.
The principals of this burgeoning football philosophy are former national youth player and aspiring tactician Troy Mendonca and Marlan Cole.
Mendonca is no stranger to football administration at the association level following his exploits as President of the Georgetown Football Association (GFA). Cole at the aforementioned juncture, was his proverbial deputy in his portfolio as General Secretary of the entity.
Their subsequent departure from office provided the catalyst in creating the country’s leading football promotional organism, with youth football, a much maligned and financially avoided platform, their main fixation and priority.
Over the course of their fruitful 13 years of existence, the list of their active events, programs, for the politically correct, number in the region of 10.
Amongst them are the Courts Pee Wee Championship which started their journey into mainstream acclaim, Smalta Girls Pee Wee, Milo Secondary Schools Championship, GT Beer Futsal Championship, Corona Futsal Championship, Limacol Championship, Turbo Energy Drink Knockout Tournament, ExxonMobil U14 Championship, GuyOil/Tradewind Tankers League and the KFC Goodwill Series, an event of international flavour and fervour.
Their exploits have stretched beyond the field and hard-courts of Futsal, as they were also pivotal in the rise and concretisation of the street football phenomenon known as Guinness ‘Greatest of the Streets’, following stints coordinating the Georgetown, East Coast Demerara and National Championships respectively.
Frankly, their resume is unparalleled and unchallenged in the development of the local discipline at every level in the last decade, which clearly and certainly warrants consideration for the helm at the federation, when the entity stages its election in 2023.
No other organisation, private or otherwise, matches their cumulative and continued developmental efforts in the footballing realm. As such, no other candidate would be ideal for the post of GFF President given their unblemished track record.
Imagine the possible contribution that could be realised by a member of this august and distinguished entity, if a national profile and portfolio is afforded to their sporting ambitions and objectives.
Certainly they can’t do worse than the previous cabals, who have led the federation in years past, only to witness the sport descend into the realms of obscurity.
Without the input of the Petra Organization, football would not have been active and visible for years not only in their jurisdiction of Georgetown but the environs of West Demerara, Berbice, East Coast, and Linden.
This is a testament to not only their impact and overall vision, but a reality or existence of what can be realised for a sport, if a concerted effort is applied, and groups with structured concepts, are embraced to lead.
However, like second nature, we have opted by design, and intent, to elect officials simply based on the premise of a promise. Leaders who have always displayed a sense of self-importance and intellect, despite lacking the cognitive, mental and intellectual faculties to lay claim to such traits.
Maybe it’s time we elect individuals with a pedigree and overall culture in sporting development. Maybe it’s time for a different approach, a procedure grounded not only in reality, but complimented by fact and empirical evidence of actual development.
The record of the Petra Organization speaks for itself. Marco Rubio, Republican Senator from Florida once proclaimed, “Leadership cannot be measured in a poll or even in the result of an election. It can only be truly seen with the benefit of time. From the perspective of 20 years, not 20 days.”
