The competition is tough but Ivan Persaud remains confident of clinching GFF Presidency

Apr 05, 2013 Sports

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Presiding over the affairs of local footballers has been touted as a thankless job but as they say, someone has to do it. Ever since the cream of the nation’s ball weavers defected to the USA while en route to Mexico via Los Angeles for the 1987 World Cup Qualifiers in the mid eighties, football has taken a nose dive until recently when the Golden Jaguars created some ripples, albeit in an unsuccessful bid in another FIFA World Cup qualifiers tournament.
Colin Klass had taken over the mantle after the ignominious 1987 debacle but many felt that his rule was autocratic and to some extent, unproductive.
Nevertheless, many attempts to destabilize him through the electorate failed and many were resigned to what seemed like Klass’ automatic life membership in the Presidential seat.
Fate changed all of this and after found guilty of impropriety by the world ruling football body, Klass was sanctioned and banned for a specified period paving the way for fresh elections for the remaining 2 years of the aborted term.
On April 12 next, the GFF electorate will convene to elect a Presidential candidate for the next two years as well as other executive positions for four years terms.
While every position is important, much emphasis has been placed on the Presidency and four gentlemen, Aubrey ‘Shanghai’ Major, Christopher Matthias, Alfred King and Ivan Persaud, all with varying football experience and administrative skill, have submitted themselves for the prestigious position.
Most of these candidates have tabled grandiose projections and manifestos while sporting remarkable resumes but only one person will clinch the job.
Ivan Persaud is confident that he has what it takes to fill the void and exudes confidence of winning the coveted prize.
He was nominated by the East Bank Football Association and seconded by the Coaches Association.  But one wonders what has inspired Mr. Persaud to contest the position and what gives him the confidence that he would come out victorious.
“My vast experience and love for the sport,” he confidently replied. His brows furrowed as he rolled out his resume that included a stint playing in such clubs as Botofago FC, Western Tigers FC and the GDF FC at the amateur level. He said that he also competed professionally in Suriname in 1984 and finally moved over to Holland in 1986 for a stint in the Professional Leagues.
But even before his illustrious international career, Mr. Persaud had represented this country at both junior and senior levels shortly before he clinched a 5 years Government coaching scholarship award at the University of Sports, Cali Columbia in 1995.
Five years later he graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree with a Major in Football Coaching.
Ivan returned and served within the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sports until 2004 when he migrated to the United Kingdom.
Ivan said that though he was physically removed from Guyana his heart was always in local football development.
He said that he continued to play an integral role in the development of the sport in several areas including technical innovations and fitness and nutrition.
He said that he was also instrumental in facilitating the visit of a professional coach, William Librero, out of Cali Columbia, to conduct a seminar to enhance the knowledge and skills of local administrators who in turn passed on their knowledge to the players.
Mr. Persaud said that despite taking up residence in the United Kingdom he has represented Guyana at many forums as a player and had extended similar services to local ball weavers.
During his illustrious career as an administrator he has travelled to more than 24 countries in the Caribbean, North America and many Spanish countries and has rendered coaching services to the Golden Jaguars in 2012 during their bid to qualify for the FIFA World Cup tournament. His travels have served him well and he speaks several languages including Spanish, French, Dutch and Portuguese among others. He is adamant that such skill could serve the local fraternity well during negotiations with officials and players in those territories.
All this time Mr. Persaud said that he had noted the many deficiencies that seemed to curtail the development of the game and he had been somewhat concerned.
Quizzed on his laissez-faire disposition to effect changes Persaud said, “I would have needed the clout and the mandate to facilitate positive action and had I the mandate of the president it would have been a less complicated task.” He said that people tend to listen to their leaders and he was not in the leadership seat and therefore lacked the clout.
“That is why I know that once I attain the Presidential position I could motivate my charges to appreciate my vision for the progression of the sport,” a confident Persaud exhorted.
Should he succeed in his presidential quest Persaud will be shackled with a huge debt incurred by the GFF that will obviously impinge on his plans to push the sport forward in a timely manner. “I am not certain what the debts of the GFF are but the last time I heard that we were in the red by millions of dollars,” revealed Persaud. He is cognizant that it would be a tedious task to liquidate that debt while focusing on developmental factors.
He said that executives would have to incorporate the input of all stakeholders and explore practical ways to liquidate the debt while attracting funding to the Federation. “We will obviously have to solicit support from the corporate community as well as the government if we are to grapple with debt issues,” confessed Persaud.
He admitted that there is a level of apathy among members of the business community owing in part to the lack of accountability of the previous executives.
However, Mr. Persaud is confident that an executive led by him could reignite the trust of the corporate community. He said that those professionals would realize that the newly installed executives are not really responsible for the incurred debt. The aspiring President further said that among his first tasks would be to create the environment where officials would be accountable and transparent. “People want to see that their money is spent as initially agreed and I believe that once we could satisfy this criterion we could reignite that trust and confidence,” opined Mr. Persaud.
He also plans to assume a bifurcated approach that incorporates the forward thrust of the sport over a short and long term period while examining the possibility of forming alliances with strong football nations. “I am examining the possibility of arranging friendly matches with our footballers and other international teams to foster improvement among local players,” intimated Persaud.
Those countries include China, Iran, Saudi Arabia and Turkey among others and Mr. Persaud intends to commence negotiations with football bigwigs in the United Kingdom as soon as he is installed as President.
“The aim is to procure funds for the local coffers and when we attain a healthy financial standing we will be in a position to share our wealth among our affiliates while influencing additional support from the business community,” explained Mr. Persaud.
Amidst such grandiose plans and projections, Persaud, a former resident of Wismar, is aware that he must firstly impress the electorate.
Last Wednesday, accompanied by a team, he travelled to his former hometown to have open and frank discussions with the General Council of the Upper Demerara Football Association (UDFA). He said that he hopes to influence their support with his plans and projections.
He said he has faith in the elections commission comprising three attorneys-at-law, Emily Dodson, Mark Waldron and Stephen Lewis. He admits that his competitors’ involvement stem from their desire to see the development of the sport.
Notwithstanding this, he is confident of winning the presidential seat but assured that whichever way the election goes he will continue to support the sport he loves. “When the campaign is over I stand prepared to continue along the lines of development for this beautiful game we all love,” he concluded.

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