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Letter to the Sports Editor…More than new faces needed in Guyana’s football administration!

Oct 21, 2014 Sports

Dear Sir,
Editor, in relation to the above caption permit the space to once again extend my profound gratitude to your sports journalist, Rawle Welch for his for his article captioned “New faces needed in Guyana’s football administration-FIFA/CONCACAF must speak definitively now” K.N: 06.10.14. Speaking of administration; “it remains the most important, but yet still the most unthankful area in the sport”! It’s administrators, who are tasked with the responsibility of: adhering to constitutionality; proper record keeping. I.e. minutes of meetings; convincing sponsors that their sponsorship further develops the sport; proper fixtures compilation, enabling marketability towards attracting the paying public, and assisting coaches to properly plan their respective training schedule.
Editor, “giving jack his jacket” the Guyana Football Federation (GFF) and the Georgetown Football Association (GFA); have both since experienced a “volcanic eruption of non-sponsorship” for the past 1 ½ years and 4 years, respectively! What is the cause? Is it that the affluent and well educated do not have the vision/intellect to construct a proper letter, encompassing, duration, number of participants, aims and objectives, publicity (electronic &print media) and a budget of expenditure! Whereas within the period of 2008-2010, the then GFA, under the astute leadership of Troy Mendonca, President; Marlan Cole, Hon. Secretary, Wayne Forde & Capt: Smith and myself Asst: Sec/Treasurer, just to name a few attracted sponsorship.
Suffice it to say that teamwork despite indifferences had always taken precedence towards further developing and promoting the sport of association football.   Whereby within the two year period, the GFA had attracted and completed 16 sponsored competitions.
At the conclusion of each competition, sponsors were presented with a report and a financial statement. Of vital importance it must be noted that competitions were played at the under -11; U-13, U-15, U-17, U-19, U-21, 1st Division and Premier League. Is it the same today? Absolutely not, but rather a sprinkling of a few tournaments. With such a position of non-sponsorship definitely not being good for the sport, in addition to a spattering of competitions, then why should the sport continue to suffer at the behest of a few power drunk individuals, who are clueless and oblivious to what development entails?
While I would agree that in a few countries officials were debarred from holding Public Office: “Christopher Matthias received in 2001 a vote of no confidence for financial impropriety” which was overturned by Colin Klass. Should Matthias then continue to hold public office, as a football official? Definitely not! I cannot agree with those that walked out of the two Congresses must face sanctions. Rather it’s Matthias and the FIFA/CONCACAF representatives, who should be sanctioned for not providing “circumstantial and supportive evidence” that provisional members (IMC’s) can vote.
In the final analysis football, the world’s most popular; emotional and with the largest global audience, within Guyana, it has become a heap of rubble! With Matthias at the helm, sponsorship has dwindled; fewer spectators and a quasi executive stand on par with: cronyism, lackeyism, incompetence, half-truths, lies and deceit. The most practicable solution would be his resignation or dissolving of the executive by FIFA, the appointment of an IMC, and elections being held in 6 months.
Lester Sealey

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