Dear Editor,
The GFF seems to be in the news these days for all the wrong reasons. Firstly, it was the fiasco with the late payments of players and officials attached to the various national teams. Then there was the nonpayment of prize monies to clubs in the GFF/KFC Elite Football League.
This letter serves to bring attention to another financial issue; the withholding of financial support for the Rupununi Football Association’s Men’s Senior League. The Rupununi Football Associa-tion and all other Regional Member Associations by virtue of being due paying and affiliated members of the GFF are supposed to be provided with administrative, logistical and financial support to operationalize and execute various football programmes yearly; this is a basic and fundamental responsibility of the GFF. The annual Men’s Senior League is one such programme where GFF support is critical, as this tournament is vital for clubs across the country seeking promotion to the Elite League. While it is not clear as to the status of financial disbursements to the other Regional Member Associations (RMAs) what is clear is that GFF has not given the RFA one blind cent for 2024 with one month left in the year and despite repeated promises to do so. Is this how the Wayne Forde led administration is expecting football to develop? By withholding valuable financial support?
The RFA through its own initiative and in the interest of football development in Region 9 decided to kick start its Senior League in August 2024 in the hope that the funds promised by GFF would have been disbursed sooner rather than later. Four months later, after over one hundred games played, and with the Rupununi Referee body being owed close to two million dollars, no money has yet been disbursed. And so, the League totters toward collapse and the most important stakeholders, the clubs which have invested vast sums of money to participate in the League, stand to lose the most. It is disheartening to see Rupununi football with its rich history of producing some of the best players the country has seen, being so callously and shoddily treated by the current GFF administration.
The issue of GFF withholding financial support is troubling because if the GFF cannot or does not want to meet its financial responsibilities, then the RMAs and the various national programmes will suffer. Who then can hold the Federation’s feet to the proverbial fire? Under FIFA statutes, football federations must be free of government interference so technically there is no one the clubs can turn to for assistance when the GFF drags its feet on certain issues. Dark days are ahead if this current GFF administration continues to choose this path of “my way or the highway” mentality especially where financial matters are concerned. Guyana football, which is already languishing in the doldrums stands to fall further behind if the Wayne Forde administration does not step up its game with alacrity.
Sincerely,
(Name and Address Provided)
