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Two decades of languish and anguish over one year ago

Jun 04, 2014 Sports

By Rawle Welch
The pretexts under which some frustrated and manifestly self-serving football officials are trying to seize power from the duly elected Guyana Foorball Federation (GFF) Executive ought to be seen as a move to take the sport back to the dark days of iron-fisted rule which came to a humiliating end on April 12, 2013 following the intervention of FIFA / CONCACAF.
For all those who suffered under the past regime’s ‘our way or go away’ attitude the 2013 expression at the Electoral Congress was an act of courage for the betterment of the sport and the recent attempts by some who feel that it is their right to dictate and manage the affairs of football forever must be reminded that change came over one year ago.
They must understand that their efforts to hijack Guyana’s football and return it to the period of acrimony and absence of accountability, structure and development will not gain the support of a majority, especially when it is in blatant violation of the constitution.
It is clear that the reasons advocated by the Group as being grounds to call for a vote of no-confidence against the President and a committee member cannot be sustained therefore the only other plausible motive is to snatch the reins of power dishonestly.
The honourable members of the current executive came to power via the ballots in front of highly esteemed members of FIFA / CONCACAF including President Jeffrey Webb so there could not be any fiddling with the ballots or intimidatory tactics involved and the result was a release from two decades of languish and anguish.
It was a former official from the past regime who in less than 24 hours after the landmark victory in 2013 spoke about the new executive’s inability to handle the multi millions of dollars thanks to FIFA / CONCACAF annual goodwill.
This impulsive pronouncement only served to further highlight the real intent of certain former members of the executive, who while boasting of the heightened activity of the national teams, failed to exercise prudence in its management of the GFF coffers.
It was a tenure that can only be described as unforgettable when one considers the amount of money that came into the office and the state of indebtedness that was inherited by the current executive, despite the ‘Golden Jaguars’ best showing in a World Cup campaign which is perhaps the only positive that was left on the trail of disaster.
The decision to rob this nation the opportunity to witness the skills and abilities of some of the global stars in the game in the name of a sensible financial judgment is unforgivable, especially when it is clear that monies derived from the switch was never disclosed or even used to assuage the financial liabilities of the Federation.
Numerous questions were asked about the Mexico issue among others, but there was never any real disclosure so for some to talk about accountability is hypocritical and meant to hoodwink the nation.
How could you explain the nonpayment of monies to the chief principals (players) who played their hearts out to make Guyana proud against teams that enjoyed the best preparations, while the administrative hierarchy here displayed observable indifference?
Many of the other characters in the centre of the attempted coup d’état are all well known figures of controversy and judging from feedback will struggle to gain support.
The right thinking members of the football fraternity spoke in 2013 and while the Federation has faced constant pressure by forces bent on destabilization at the expense of development, the dedicated members of the executive and General Council have resolved to forge ahead with FIFA / CONCACAF directives and not be put off by those bent on strife.

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