Team Unity officially unveiled

Oct 25, 2015 Sports

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Involvement of all stakeholders will be paramount – Presidential candidate, Hughes

Noting that it is not only a privilege to have been invited to lead the Team Unity slate as presidential candidate for the upcoming Guyana Football Federation (GFF) elections; but being back in an area that he would have spent time and energy towards starting a new school some years ago, Nigel Hughes yesterday morning officially introduced members

of Team Unity.
The occasion took place at the basketball court just outside the Andrew ‘Six Heads’ Lewis Gym, Albouystown, Georgetown and was attended by members of the community, football clubs and associations among others.
Hughes informed that his essential decision to accept the challenge to lead the slate was based on a few things: “We want to create hope, opportunity, development and transparency. For too long we have failed the people in the challenged and depressed areas of this country in creating opportunity for them to truly develop their real talent.”
Hughes, a former goalkeeper for the then Georgetown Football League noted that the solution does not lie in just getting an individual to come and lead a team and say he or she is going to do great things for football, “It is really the plan that one has for the development of football, and like the development of any sport or any business, you have to go to the foundation, you have to go to the start, you have got to go to pre-secondary and primary school and find out what programme you have and once you have identified the programme you want to put in place, its whether or not it is sustainable.”
The main speaker noted that sustenance of the sport cannot be achieved purely on volunteerism.
“We have to pay coaches. You cannot possibly talk about expecting the national team to qualify into world cup finals where you’re on whether or not people volunteer. First thing we have to do is look at the structure and this team has put together a plan that looks at the entire structure of football.”
“We’ve had enough years to understand where our faults lie, we’ve had enough years to understand where the difficulties lie and we’ve had enough years to understand where we have failed. The question is how do we take this forward?”
Hughes confessed that when he was approached with the opportunity to be involved he hesitated but then resolved that if one is given the chance to make a difference in the lives of people, it is not a political opportunity; it is where one creates real hope and opportunity in the daily lives of young people.

“I thought of the thousands of young men in this country throughout the last 20 years who have been great players but who have not have the opportunity to develop their skill to the level of which they should be not only nationally, but internationally, and we have failed each and every one of them.”
It was pointed out by Hughes that every young man, whether he ends up in prison, whether he ends up in a mediocre job or is not able to exploit his true potential means that as a society, we have failed pointing out that football offers him an opportunity to attain his full potential.
“This team wants to take football to new level and we understand the difficulty that has occurred. One of the first questions that I got when my candidacy was announced is how you could possibly team up with Odinga to take football forward.
I said the one thing anybody in the street who is interested in football would tell you, it is not about the differences between the tribes, it is not about the differences between the political vision; it is about the commitment to football and taking it forward.”
Hughes emphasized that his position is that he does not care where they {people} are located, so long as there is talent and someone has the ability to take the sport forward, “I am willing to work with them, I don’t care who they are, where they come from because the sport is bigger than each and every one of us individually.”
Hughes informed the gathering that as a result of the foregoing, he got some contact from the Wayne Forde led slate and emphasized that this competition is not about running down the other side, noting that they are good men and women on the other side too.
“I said to them in recognition of their contribution to the sport, I am proposing a joint slate because the way forward for football is if we all together with our collective talents are prepared to take this sport forward. I’m awaiting their response but that will always be my position, whatever happens on the day of election my position is that we must always reach out and involve everybody who has a contribution to make to sport.”
All the associations Hughes said would be visited in the coming days whether they have supported his slate or not. At these meetings, the vision and plan of Team Unity would be shared with the members to ensure they are involved while assuring them that they would be involved in the future of football irrespective of who wins.
Corporate Guyana would also be targeted by Team Unity with a view of them understanding that the sport of football offers a viable and wise business choice.
President of Alpha United, Mr. Odinga Lumumba, who is Team Unity’s 1st Vice President in his remarks noted that the neighborhood of Albouystown is very special to him having done lots of good social work there including building the Andrew ‘Six Head’ Lewis Boxing Gym where hundreds of young people traverse on a weekly basis.
The owner of Guyana’s most successful club underscored the fact that no sport can progress in a country unless there is a united position on where it should go. He noted that Mr. Hughes’ acceptance as being the presidential candidate was also significant, reminding that he {Hughes} would provide that kind of leadership that’s not only good for football but will set an example in Guyana; the fact that he is giving back to the land of his birth.
“The presence of Mr. Hughes is a guiding light for others to put something back in the community. I’m proud of being a part of this team which has a responsibility of taking football to the next level. To do that we would have to look at the associations, see what’s missing and see how we can help.”
Regular competitions are important and Lumumba suggested it would bring about encouraging change.
“Guyana can’t want to be in the World Cup finals when you play just three international teams per year; we cannot create good football players when some association gets one competition per year; some don’t have any; When players participate in the sport three months per year; we have to get steady competitions.”
Facilities is one of the first line of business that Team Unity will look into, Lumumba informed apart from training coaches, referees, financial accountability, focus on females, facilities for futsal and beach soccer.
“The indigenous people are a part of Guyana, we can’t only remember them election time, and I’m talking about national elections and football elections,” Lumumba argued. He said that if the right thing is done, half the national team should be constituted of players from the hinterland.
Second Vice President Mark Waldron underscored the importance of taking the game back to communities and that is one of the reasons the Albouystown area was chosen. While admitting that he is inexperienced as an administrator in the game, Waldron noted that it is time to assess the shortcomings of football in Guyana while focusing on the development of youth and by extension, communities.
“I am making myself available to be a part of Team Unity which is the next executive of the Guyana Football Federation.”

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