– GFF approval not sought by organisers
Confirming that permission was not sought from the Guyana Football Federation (GFF), the Kashif and Shanghai Organisation officially launched the National Futsal Championship yesterday in the boardroom of the Ministry of Culture, Youth, and Sport on Main Street.
The event, which will utilise an elimination format and will commence on November 20th, will feature 64 teams from several regions. It is slated to conclude on January 1st, 2025.
32 teams will feature from Georgetown, with the remainder emanating from Linden, East Coast Demerara, Berbice, East Bank Demerara, Lethem, West Demerara, Region #1, Essequibo, Region #7, and Region #9.
$1,500,000 will be awarded to the eventual winner, while the second, third, and fourth-place finishers will walk away with $1,000,000, $500,000, and $200,000 apiece and the respective trophy. Barring the top four finishers, $30,000 will be awarded to each eliminated team. The final 16 teams will also be outfitted with new uniforms.
On the individual side, the most valuable player will ride off with a motorcycle, while $30,000 apiece will be awarded to the eventual highest goal scorer and best goalkeeper.
The competition will also feature a four-team women’s segment, which will commence in the semifinal round. The victor will pocket $200,000, with the second, third, and fourth place finishers receiving $100,000, $60,000, and $40,000 apiece.
Excluding the opening night, the tournament will primarily be staged at the National Gymnasium on Mandela Avenue on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays, with the semifinal and eventual final pencilled for the Cliff Anderson Sports Hall on Homestretch Avenue.
Meanwhile, Co-Director of the Kashif and Shanghai Organisation and Chairman of the National Sports Commission (NSC), Kashif Muhammad, when asked if permission was sought from the GFF to stage the event, said, “No, we didn’t ask for permission because the reason being these teams are not affiliated to the GFF, so we can’t ask the GFF for their permission, and none of them are affiliated to the GFF.”
Muhammad, who revealed that permission was given by the Minister of Culture, Youth, and Sport Charles Ramson Jr. for the utilisation of the Cliff Anderson Sports Hall for the semifinal and final, further said, “I don’t think the GFF has a Futsal section, where these teams are registered to be a part of that. We are asking the GFF officially for their referees to be part of this tournament.
The tournament has to be guided by the official rules, and it’s a FIFA programme so we need that guidance.”
Asked if a conflict of interest does not exist given his portfolio as NSC Chairman, Muhammad said, “We want to provide nice entertainment for Guyana. I am capable of doing that, my team is capable of doing that, and we were asked to do it, and we will definitely do it because we think people respect our capabilities… This is not anything that where I will be asking the NSC for monies for this or anything like that. NSC will not be a part of this, but we just want to ensure that we provide real quality entertainment for Guyana.
We want to give the opportunity for young footballers to play at something very well organised, and these guys must showcase themselves, and they must get an opportunity to benefit from them showcasing themselves.”
Probed as to why the entity opted to stage a Futsal tournament given it is known for its exploit in the traditional format, Muhammad declared, “When we were called, we were called and asked to do field football, but then because of what field football now is in Guyana. It’s difficult for us to come and do this because our thing is not just a Georgetown thing alone, and we all know that no major football was played in Lethem, in East Bank, Berbice, [and] Linden. Georgetown probably had like one tournament. West Demerara, East Coast [Demerara], so because of that kind of lack of football being played around, it’s difficult for us to come and ask the country to come out and see something that is not of real quality. Here is quality.”
Quizzed if the tournament will reschedule its January 1st final if the GFF launches an event and programmes a championship match for the date, he revealed, “I don’t know this is something that we might probably have to discuss with the GFF when that time comes but so far we have not heard anything about any football playing anywhere and if you are a real true organizer of quality football you can’t just come out at this particular stage, at this ninth hour because we think this is late for us.”
He further said, “This is not how we operate but then we were asked and because of that we know we are capable of taking care of this so because we did not see anyone doing anything for December we decided that we will go and try to make this work but i don’t think anybody who seriously understands top quality organizing will jump out with something just like that, it’s going to cost so much because any tournament at any level will cost quite a lot to happen.”
