Sports could suffer long term damage

Mar 01, 2012 Sports

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By Rawle Welch
After enjoying what could best be described as one of the better years in sports in Guyana in recent times, those gains, judging from all that has transpired in just two months of this year, will surely be lost if the current trend of antagonism continues between the various factions, especially those in cricket and football.
These two disciplines over the 46 years that we have been an independent nation, have duly earned the honour of being at the top of the ranking in our sports curriculum.
However, the present picture being painted at home, in the region and across the world, depicts a sordid and shameful image that if not fixed immediately, could result in long term damage to the respective disciplines and their representation.
Initially, because most of our sport administrations are manned by persons who usually volunteer their services, potential candidates who wish to serve will be afraid to do so in light of the constant persecution and humiliation that seems to be the new order of the day.
The lack of regard for elected officials by the powers that be has swiftly gained access into the sports fraternity and this new development will no doubt sweep its way across the entire sports landscape.
Many feel that it is the beginning of a new dispensation in sports, but the sad reality is that if the powers that be are not ready to lead with tangible investment, and are more focused on imposing their will, then Guyana’s standing as a regional power in sports could diminish rapidly.
The protracted entanglement between the Guyana Cricket Board (GCB) and the Government-set-up Interim Management Committee (IMC) has moved from a domestic  squabble to an international disagreement, with the WICB and the ICC having to intervene to pronounce on who is the legitimate party.
The pronouncement was that the two bodies will only recognise the GCB as the legally authorised body to conduct the affairs of Guyana’s cricket.
However, the Ministry of Sport had advocated that due to the suspicion of financial impropriety and other issues it felt were affecting the development of cricket locally, the time had arrived for new measures to be implemented to rescue the sport from the state it has plunged to.
The action taken by the Ministry seems not to be one centred on pacification, but rather one that could be interpreted as an imposition, and if this is the new modus operandi, then every sport organisation should be suspicious of such an approach, since the tentacles could very well reach theirs.
The GCB had reached out and offered the olive branch, urging the IMC to work along with it, but even though no definitive announcement was made on whether it would accede to or reject the offer, the current engagement within the walls of the High Court appears to be very instructive.
The next stop is the enduring stand-off between the Guyana Football Federation (GFF) and the Georgetown Football Association (GFA) which, akin to the cricket face-off, has reached the corridors of the court, and there seems to be no amicable solution in sight.
None of the parties seem interested in finding a solution to the crisis, the genesis of which stems from the withdrawal of the GFA’s right to vote at the GFF’s Annual General Meeting.
This calamity has caused a deep rift in football, with some of the top teams pulling out of the GFA-organised competitions, while those who have stuck with the Georgetown body have been ignored by the governing body, thereby creating chaos among clubs in the capital city. The existing impasse is anticipated to continue, with both factions seemingly entrenched in their positions, and while competitions are being played, everyone associated with sports, and more directly football, should not feel happy with the present situation.
The approach to involve the Minister of Sport to act as a mediator did not work, with the GFF a no-show, citing that they have already made it clear that as long as the GFA keeps its protest in Court, they will not meet with them.
On the other hand, the GFA has intimated that unless there are certain guarantees and that include the restoration of their right to vote, they are not prepared to take any word emanating from the GFF as a precondition to remove the injunction from the court.
In the meantime, one club has taken advantage of the state of affairs and has been jumping back and forth, using its considerable clout to continually disrupt an already disorganised situation.
Unless the major actors within both organisations are prepared to act with a large degree of respect for the players, and more importantly the corporate community whose dollars without doubt help to sustain the livelihood of the players, the sport could suffer long term damage, a similar setting to that of cricket.

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