Caribbean Football Union lauds local football administrator’s efforts

Mar 14, 2009 Sports

Colin Klass

Gregory Richardson

By Michael Benjamin
Despite the outcries of the naysayer pertaining to local football administration, the efforts of the executive of the Guyana Football Federation have been lauded by their parent entity, FIFA at the Caribbean Football Union (CFU) Congress, held in Trinidad and Tobago, over the past weekend.
President of the Guyana Football Federation (GFF) Colin Klass made this disclosure to media representatives at a press brief at the Federation’s Section ‘K’ Campbellville headquarters yesterday morning.

Klass, also a Vice President of the CFU, has recently returned from the CFU Congress in the Twin Island Republic where a wide range of issues pertaining to football’s development in the region was discussed. Representatives from various parts of the Caribbean territory also reflected on past achievements and failures with an aim of implementing corrective measures. Football administrators also projected for football’s future development.

Klass also intimated that, whereas in the past the meeting dealt specifically with issues arising out of the Financial Assistance Programme (FAP), the agenda has been broadened to deal with bifurcated matters. He highlighted the ‘Vision Caribe,’ a working document outlining short and long term projections of Caribbean football. The meeting also discussed administration matters, training and the professional leagues, among other areas.

Klass further disclosed the Caribbean member countries have shown vast improvements in complying with the requirements of the Financial Assistance Programme (FAP). He said that this anomaly is not only attributed to the Caribbean Region but to other developed countries as well. “There has been a 68% compliance level among the 208 football nations,” Klass told media operatives. Quizzed on the status of the local Federation’s accounts, Klass said, “The GFF has almost completed the auditing process and is awaiting the auditor’s approval.” He said that this process is merely a formality. “I am confident that the GFF would be able to meet the March 30th deadline,” Klass assured.

Meanwhile, Klass disclosed that a critical aspect of deliberations at the forum touched on ways of bridging the gap between the parent organization and the grass root clan. Klass explained that while professional football has been extremely lucrative, only about 5% of the football family is actually competing at that level. He said that this has forced the world governing football body to enact a programme that aims to bridge the gap between the Federations and members of the grass root community.

Klass said that FIFA plans to utilize the services of past players in the respective territories to hone the skills of players that experience difficulties accessing such tutelage in the different territories.
The GFF boss also touched on the contentious FIFA grant. He said that this subsidy was not meant to satisfy every aspect of the Federations’ expenses but was really a minute aspect of the support system, meant to augment the local programmes.
He said that many persons are of the belief that the FIFA grant is enough to address the local developmental aspects of football.

He also said that even members of the corporate community seem to believe this notion. “We have witnessed a definitive decrease in corporate support,” Klass lamented. He has committed himself to the task of finding answers to this worrisome problem.
Meanwhile, Klass said that he is extremely pleased with the inroads made by local footballer, Gregory ‘Jackie Chan’ Richardson who has recently signed a contract to play in Major League Soccer. He offered his congratulations to the local star while emanating confidence that many other local footballers would receive such opportunities in the near future.