GFF President, Wayne Forde settles down to face the challenges

Nov 20, 2015 Sports

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By Michael Benjamin  
Less than a week ago, businessman, Wayne Forde, was merely the President of the Fruta Conquerors Football Club with a desire to enhance the fortunes of his charges, mostly youths, from the Tucville community and its immediate environs.

This all changed after he accepted a nomination to contest for the prestigious post of President of the Guyana Football Federation (GFF) when those elections were held last Saturday morning at the Marriott hotel, Kingston.
Forde’s opponent was none other than the influential Attorney-at-Law, Nigel Hughes and the consensus seemed to suggest that Forde’s chances were extremely slim. Notwithstanding, Forde launched a strategic campaign and when the dust had settled he had achieved the (perceived) impossible task and today, he is the elected President of the GFF.
Forde’s business offices are situated in Water Street, Aubrey Barker Street and Thomas Street but yesterday morning he was at the GFF Secretariat, Dadanawa Street, Section K Campbellville, familiarizing himself with the landscape, meeting his staff and generally putting the modalities in place for a smooth transition and effective administration of the sport.
Kaieteur Sport engaged Forde and he immediately expressed gratitude to the electorate for the confidence placed in him and his other executives to charter a way forward for the sport. He said that he is quite enthused and has already commenced work. “My first task is to examine the (current) organizational structure in the secretariat and implement the necessary changes wherever deemed fit,” he disclosed. There are approximately 10 persons in this department and the newly inaugurated President said that his vision is to create a Secretariat that is flexible and relevant to the realities of the fraternity.
“My objective is to create an environment that conveys a level of service that facilitates all stakeholders where they can visit and access services to enhance their respective projects,” Mr. Forde intimated. He said that the secretariat must have that aura that immediately gives visitors the feeling of being in the command centre of (local) football.
Mr. Forde said that he is also examining the physical layout of the secretariat to accommodate the staff, while aiming for a people friendly environment. He said that his executive will give careful consideration to this area and will aspire for third party funding so as not to place unnecessary burdens on the Federation’s funds.
Even as he concentrates on structuring the secretariat, Mr. Forde is cognizant that his pivotal obligation is to the all round progression of the sport. He said that already the (GFF) has dispatched a contingent to the Women’s Olympics Qualifiers currently underway in Trinidad and Tobago. The group includes President of the Women’s Football Association, Sharmaine Wade, (GFF) executive, Thandi McCallister and Rawle Toney. Two female footballers have also been sent on the trip and Mr. Forde explained that their inclusion is basically a ploy of his executives to give the young players a feel of the international arena. “We believe that this ploy will allow the players to attend international competitions and enhance their confidence in preparation for (their) future engagements,” explained Mr. Forde. He also said that his executives are now weighing the pros and cons and within another few weeks they will establish the criteria for the selection of players and other representatives at international engagements.
The Federation’s finances have always been the principal topic of concern and Mr. Forde’s predecessors have come in for scathing attacks over perceived malfeasance and misappropriation of the Federation’s funds. Mr. Forde is well aware of the perceptions associated with this department and said that he is currently establishing the framework to deal with (financial) issues. “The (GFF) has experienced many challenges with finance but through strategic intervention the debt burden has been significantly reduced,” Forde disclosed. He said that only recently the debt was hovering around 90 million dollars but through strategic applications officials have managed to reduce it to around 30 million.
Consequently, Mr. Forde has mandated his financial point man, Kareem Jones, to commence preparations of the 2016 budget. “Our priority for the 1st and 2nd quarter is to reduce this debt considerably but most importantly, we wish to see a reversion of the status quo where the (GFF) is thought to be unworthy of credit,” said Mr. Forde.
He said that while he is contemplating negotiations for debt write offs, he is also toying with the idea of employing innovative debt servicing tools that may also include bartering of services. “The bottom line is to ultimately present the GFF as a credit worthy institution to improve our relations with our stakeholders,” exhorted the GFF boss.
Mr. Forde said that he will also employ shrewd business acumen to propel the sport forward. He admitted that there is a need to find new revenue streams as the former avenues are either not as lucrative as they used to be or are nonexistent. He plans to engage the corporate sector in relevant discussions.
Another ploy being mulled is the establishment of a platform for television and branding rights, an area that could enhance the financial stability of the GFF. While these are grandiose plans, the skeptics may question their viability and Mr. Forde said that he is aware of the pervading doubts. “We are currently in discussions and I can assure you that my executives will come up with mechanisms to transform our projections into reality,” he assured.
Quizzed on his all round developmental approaches Mr. Forde assured, “The administrative aspects are being attended to in conjunction with other football matters, already, my staff has begun to engage the sub associations on plans and projections for the yearend tournaments.”

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