Netrockers president, Akanni Blair, has criticised the state of football in the Upper Demerara Football Association (UDFA) jurisdiction, affirming that the continued lack of financial assistance from the Guyana Football Federation (GFF) will only serve to exacerbate further deterioration.
This sentiment was expressed during an exclusive interview with Stabroek Sport where Blair stated, “The UDFA is in a very sorry state. Football is at its lowest I’ve ever seen. The club structures are in disarray and there seems to be no answers to what’s going on. The UDFA cannot lift itself from its current position and with the present executives unable to secure a major sponsor, it will only get worse before any betterment. With little or no assistance from the [GFF], the football will continue to sink.”
He added, “The UDFA was visited by the president of the GFF, Mr Wayne Ford, last Saturday to which he was invited to a UDFA General [Council] meeting where he made a presentation. He was told about the impoverishment of the UDFA [and] he was told that the UDFA don’t have a building of their own to host its meetings. To which he responded about a 50k [$50,000] per month that is given to the association and to my shock, he then mentioned about the 100k [$100,000 per person] per month that the federation pays its executive. It’s simply unacceptable!”
The GFF boss presented football equipment to the UDFA during an outreach programme on Saturday. The UDFA version of the NAMILCO National U17 Football League was also kicked-off during the visit, whilst Forde also conducted a meeting with the UDFA Executive Committee and other stakeholders within the jurisdiction. Footballs were also presented to the senior men’s teams.
According to Blair, the lack of suitable venues for competitive play in the region hinders any possibility of developing quality players. He is of the view that the assistance of the government should be solicited if the federation is incapable of aiding the UDFA to remedy the issue.
“The UDFA do not own a playing area and all the club grounds are in a nasty state [and] unfit for any type of competitive football, but yet we are talking about developing elite players. If the GFF is unable to assist the association in a meaningful manner, then football must seek the assistance of the government. They like to talk about FIFA and FIFA rules, but as far as I can recall FIFA is one of the most corrupt organisations that we tend to forget.”
Asked about his thoughts on the recently conducted statutes review process and the adoption of the amended GFF constitution, Blair replied, “Well I didn’t give much thought to the amendment to the constitution. What I can say is, from time to time constitutions must be reviewed because as things evolve so must the rules, as long the changes are for the betterment of the game!”
Quizzed on his views about the implementation of the 3rd term statute, and should the current administration seek another term in office, Blair noted, “I don’t have a problem with the term limits changing from two to three [years]. What I do have a problem with is if the current administration is going to seek re-election, given that they went into office under a two-term arrangement and now that they are about to demit office they amended the constitution to accommodate their chances. It’s just not acceptable.”
