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Covert nature unhelpful

Aug 09, 2009 Sports

By Rawle Welch
The covert nature in which many local sporting organisations prefer to operate is what is forcing the media to speculate on their modus operandi.
This view is premise on the fact that even when they offer support to individual athletes or teams very often it is done without the knowledge of the media and therefore accurate accountability is difficult to ascertain.
For instance, in many sporting institutions that obtain financial assistance from its international governing body not much is known as to how much money is received, which areas are supposed to benefit from the disbursements and the ceiling for such expenditure.
For example, the Guyana Football Federation receives an annual grant of US $250,000 from FIFA for the running of football locally and there are certain stipulations pertaining to the use of that money.
In an interview with President of the Federation Colin Klass sometime ago, he outlined some of the areas where the money is supposed to be spent such as administration, national team travel, training, stipend for national players, transportation etc.
That would seem a fair disclosure from an entity that has been shrouded in controversy linked to its handling of the resources given by FIFA.
However, many other institutions that benefit from the largesse of its governing body are not as forthcoming in their pronouncements of the amount of capital they receive and in which areas it is being spent.
For instance, entities like the Athletic Association of Guyana and the Guyana Olympic Association have not been as accommodating as they ought to be.
Not much is known about their financial records and the support they give to teams or athletes and this has made determining the level of assistance they provide difficult.
This unhelpful pattern of behaviour is seen no where else in the Region and has forced many media practitioners and sport lovers to ponder whether the monies received are being channelled in the right areas.
Very few associations obtain the kind of injection needed to lift their respective discipline forward and this has caused us to move from a country that once excelled with distinction to one that is currently chasing the flock.
One just have to take as an illustration the transparency in which a small country like St. Lucia operates and you will understand the difference in administrative behaviour.
Recently their Olympic Committee made disbursements of funds to assist member federations carry out their respective programmes.
This assistance came from its annual activities grant funding of US$65,000 and the beneficiaries were swimming, cycling and table tennis.
If we are to recapture the days of glory that we previously enjoyed, funding of athletes and programmes in addition to a more translucent approach to sports development must be the order of precedence, anything else will keep us where we are, in the cellar.

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