The Georgetown Football Association (GFA) has accused the PETRA Organisation of political interference in the affairs of the association and said that it will lodge a formal complaint with the local governing body the Guyana Football Federation (GFF).
The GFA is up in arms over a proposed cocktail meeting scheduled for this evening at Cara Lodge where aspiring GFA secretary Marlan Cole, is scheduled to meet with specially invited guests.
Cole is apparently seeking to be nominated for the post of General Secretary of the GFA at its upcoming elections.
“The GFF Executive Committee is in receipt of an invitation that was sent to our members by the PETRA Organisation. The invitation is for a campaign meeting scheduled for March 29th, 2022 at Cara Lodge,” the GFA wrote.
“The agenda is the candidacy of your co-Director, Mr. Marlan Cole, who is seeking the support of the GFA clubs for his candidacy for the position of GFA secretary,” the letter added.
Accusing the organisation of political interference, the GFA also advised the PETRA Organisation to stop meddling in the affairs of the GFA.
“We object to this meeting and recognises it as political interference into the affairs of the GFA,” the letter stated.
The GFA added that it felt disrespected by the lack of protocol shown by PETRA and accused the organization of meddling in the affairs of the body.
“PETRA is a private promoter and has no authority to summon the members of the GFA to any meeting, moreso a political meeting,” the letter, signed by GFA president, Otis James stated.
The GFA ended by saying that it was advising the PETRA Organisation to desist from meddling in the internal affairs of the GFA and to “seriously consider how this development may affect the reputation and future of the organization.”
Contacted for a comment PETRA co-Director Troy Mendonca said he needed clarity as to what was political interference in the matter.
“I don’t know if individuals or anybody can’t decide if they want to compete for an election. How does it become political interference?” he asked.
“First of all while Mr. Cole is a co-Director of the PETRA Organization, Cole would have decided to challenge for the position of secretary of the GFA in a personal capacity and he would have extended invitations to clubs to have a little briefing with them in terms of what he intends to bring to the football in Georgetown, “said Mendonca, in an invited comment.
“Unfortunately, in hindsight, he would have used the PETRA letterhead in whatever documentation he would have sent out and so I’m saying that has nothing to do with PETRA, it’s a personal decision.”
Mendonca called on sports administrators in Guyana to unite to help move sports forward.
“As administrators of this sport I just want to say that to move the sport forward or any sports forward in this country, we all have to operate in harmony and it is simple, if there is anything that you think is illegal, just highlight what it is, all these strong worded document about political interference and mingling in the business of the GFF it is not called for. At the end of the day who suffers, football suffers based on person’s personal choices. We have to operate in harmony and we have to respect one’s choices.
“We also want to apologise for any problems that we would have caused through this situation and we want to wish the GFA every success in their future endeavours,” Mendonca ended.
