One Guyana President’s Cup Football Championship successfully concluded its first run-off on January 1, however, to date, service providers and workers attached to the Guyana Football Federation (GFF) are still to be remunerated.
This was confirmed by a source close to the federation who spoke on the condition of anonymity.
According to the source, the workers attached to the competition and who fell under the auspices of the GFF, have not been paid for their services despite the event, staged in honour of President Irfaan Ali, ending months prior.
“The workers are owed in the vicinity of $1.2 million and are uncertain as to when they will receive their monies. They have been told by the GFF to give them some more time to remedy the situation. Many of these individuals worked throughout the Christmas period for the tournament without pay, and subsequently were left empty handed during Easter holidays by the GFF,” the source disclosed,
The source added, “The workers often visit the office of the GFF in an attempt to acquire information on when they will be paid but always leave empty handed, as they are provided with no answers and no certainty. All they are basically told is that they are working to fix the problem. This is an appalling situation, as these individuals have families to take care of.”
Efforts to contact GFF President Wayne Forde proved futile. Calls to his cellular phone went unanswered up to press time. Similarly, numerous calls to the mobile device of General Secretary Ian Alves also went unanswered. Neither individuals returned calls.
The players and coaches from each of the 10 competing teams also suffered a similar fate, as they were paid almost five weeks after the conclusion of the tournament, after being owed approximately $32 million in stipends and prize monies. The aforementioned payments occurred on February 5.
The competition, which was managed by the GFF, featured all 10 administrative regions competing in a national championship, following an initial inter-ward section within each of the aforesaid 10 zones.
Region Four emerged as the inaugural champion following a 2-1 victory over Region Three at the National Track and Field Centre, Leonora, West Coast Demerara. It was the most lucrative tournament staged on local soil.
