Year of challenges, but we overcame the hurdles – Klass

Dec 31, 2008 Sports

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– past experiences will see changes in 2009By Rawle Welch
President of the Guyana Football Federation (GFF) Colin Klass described the past year as a challenging one where the Body had to overcome many hurdles with almost little or no assistance.
Klass was responding to a question posed by Kaieteur Sport where he was asked to describe the past year which has been turbulent and at times embarrassing to the administration.

“One of the major challenges we faced at the beginning of the year was to get our World Cup campaign off and running because we had made a commitment to provide the ‘Golden Jaguars’ with the opportunity to get international exposure that could have secured major contracts overseas,” Klass pointed out.

He said that with a budget as huge as the one that was needed to ensure an effective campaign and after several months had elapsed and very little assistance being offered, it was almost a miracle that they made it.

“We fought a good fight, we’ve learned a lot since then and I can assure you that we’re much stronger as a Federation and personally I am as well,” Klass stated.

He added that they could have done a few things differently, but they decided to give the ‘Jaguars’ the best possible chance of showcasing their talent internationally.

“It was to promote them with the thought of allowing them to display their talent to an international audience.”
He indicated, however, the Federation will have to review all that has happened and use the gains to better serve football in 2009.

National team fiasco
After that fiasco with the national team where it was reported that certain members were calling for my resignation, I had asked for those to come forward and meet with me to discuss the issues, but so far no one has done so and it appears as though the instigators have all disappeared or either refused to be implicated further.

I had no response from anyone since the reports were made public in the media.
As I’ve mentioned before, we will not be following up on any article that could not be substantiated.
I’ve not met the senior players as yet, something which I intend to do in the New Year, but to date no player (s) have come forward and take onus of those reports.

What I can tell you further is that the General Council has come up with some firm recommendations as to the stipend and other related matters.

I should also mention that the time line I had given for players to respond in relation to all the accusations that were reported in the media has expired so I presume it is a dead issue.

Is it true that Technical Director Jamal Shabazz has resigned? 
Yes, actually what has happened is consistent with the contract agreement we entered into and since there are no major tournaments over the next year, to continue to maintain his services, we felt was not financially prudent.

However, the former TD has agreed to offer his services to the Federation from time to time if needed.
In the interim, the current national coach Wayne Dover will be employed full time from January as part of the technical department and recommend on the way forward.

You must understand that we do not get government’s assistance as pertains in most countries so the Federation on the basis of FIFA’s Financial Assistance Programme (FAP) cannot continue to sustain a TD as was the case.

Some sections have spoken about a rift between us, but that is not true and our relationship is a professional one.
You must remember that it was CONCACAF President Jack Warner, who initiated the friendship and it would not be terminated by anyone.

Your thoughts on 2008
First of all, I feel that there is an urgent need for high level facilities that can match international standards so that our athletes can compete effectively.

Because of a lack of proper facilities, many of our competitions had to be stalled and one of the reasons is that football had to be competing with other disciplines for the use of the same facility.
Some of those instances occurred in Bartica, Berbice and the East Bank of Demerara and to my mind this continues to hamper the development of the sport.

You just have to look at what Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica and Grenada are doing and you will see why they are excelling in sports. The facilities are there to compliment excellence.

Financially, amidst all that has happened apart from strong and committed supporters such as Church’s Chicken, Digicel, Banks DIH, Humphrey’s Bakery & Farm Products, DDL, Caribbean Airlines and Twin’s Pharmaceuticals, it has been a tough year.

The GFF has performed some financial miracles and we must be commended for that.
We had agreed to give the ‘Jaguars’ a golden opportunity and because of that I believe we fell short in certain areas.

Many of our programmes suffered because of the World Cup campaign, but these are spots that we intend to correct and not allow to take place next year.

On a positive note, I must emphasise the performance of our Referees who continue to do well both locally and internationally and I need to compliment them for their achievements.
We’ve been able to have another one of our referees officiate at a World Cup and that is unlike previous years so there have been areas of merit.

Another inspiring development was the performance of Alpha United Club which under the astute leadership of its President Odinga Lumumba and Head Coach Dover has been the most dominant team locally and must be regarded as the #1 club here.

Is Warner coming to Guyana?
Yes, in terms of timing I cannot say right now, but he is definitely scheduled to visit Guyana as part of the fact finding mission that CONCACAF has agreed to do.

Apart from addressing the worrying aspect of governmental interference in football related matters, Warner’s visit is to have a first hand look at what is happening in the individual territories.

That includes trying to get business entities and NGO’s to collaborate and come on board to assist in the development of the sport.

When you look at infrastructural development, that is primarily the responsibility of the government and that transcends to all parts.
FIFA, CONCACAF and CFU are not responsible for that.

Will GFF investigate Kashif & Shanghai’s claim against K-Brans of T&T
As the governing body for the sport in Guyana, we have to represent their case, but I’m waiting from the Organisers, the full details of the issue.

I’ve verbally communicated our willingness to investigate the matter with our Trinidad and Tobago counterparts and have the matter resolved amicably.

There are certain clauses governing the registration of a team (s) to play in tournaments and if it is proven that the club is found in breach of those rules then they be called upon to repay the offended party.
There is a clause for withdrawal within a certain time frame or unless in certain extreme circumstances like natural disasters etc.

Projections for 2009
First and foremost I would like to see the re-introduction of sports on the schools curriculum not just as a part time, but as a serious component.
I like to refer to other countries right in the Caribbean, there is where all the nurseries begin and have some of the largest turnout of fans.

I’ve had numerous discussions with the Minister and I hope that very soon it becomes a reality.
It can have a positive impact on our development and performance at the highest level.
As for football, 2009 will definitely see a number of adjustments.

The first phase of the GOAL Project will be up and running, our competitions will be played on schedule and we will be consolidating some of our offices and reducing staff to get more efficiency.
We believe that we were not getting value for our money.

Other projects in the pipeline are the staging of Schools and National Leagues which we feel are integral parts for the sport’s development; women and beach soccer will have some prominence as well and make attempts to foster better relationships with those who’re still ambivalent about supporting the game.

Thanks
I would like to extend thanks to all the companies, individuals, media and the government for their support throughout the year.

I would also like to thank Mr. Warner for his continued support for the development of the sport in Guyana.
To FIFA’s President Sepp Blatter and CONCACAF, we really appreciate their contributions without which I really do not know where football would be.

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