Assistance from the Ministry of Culture, Youth, and Sport for the Guyana Rugby Football Union’s (GRFU) hosting of their Rugby Americas North (RAN) 15s Championship return fixture against Trinidad and Tobago is currently before Parliament and awaiting approval from the cabinet.
This is according to a well-placed source in this ministry who revealed this information to Stabroek Sports under the condition of anonymity. According to the source, there should be progress in the upcoming week.
However, information coming out of the ministry’s camp revealed that the officials are disappointed with comments that came from GRFU President Ryan Dey.
While officials at the Ministry contend that rugby has always received support under the current administration, Dey’s comments, which made mention of the GRFU not receiving help from the government for the national team’s trip to Trinidad and Tobago, are viewed as unsavoury since it was only a one-off incident.
Additionally, in the past few weeks, GRFU’s patron, Kit Nascimento, has also criticised what he described as the Ministry moving too slowly to offer support in the way of renovating facilities at the rugby field in the National Park.
Uncertainty remains as to whether Guyana will be allowed to stage the return leg, given the state of the national park and the overall lack of an alternative venue.
Guyana recorded a remarkable come-from-behind 24-23 win over Trinidad and Tobago at the Hasely Crawford Stadium in Port of Spain on April 28 and is slated to host the return fixture, which can confirm Guyana’s progression in the championship on June 22.
Prior to the June 22 fixture, officials from RAN are slated to visit Guyana at least a week earlier to inspect the ground and facilities, and if it is found that these facilities are lacking and not up to standard, Guyana could inadvertently end up forfeiting the match.
