Challenges abound but GFF President, confident of advancement of the sport

Jul 12, 2016 Sports

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By Michael Benjamin

A mere 8 months ago Wayne Forde was the President of the Fruta Conquerors Football Club (FCFC) with lofty dreams of propelling young footballers in the Tucville area and its environs to great acclaim.
It was around that time when the Normalization Committee, established by FIFA to regularize the sport locally, was on the verge of completing its work and the (local) football fraternity was preparing for the polls. Forde accepted a nomination for the prestigious post of President of the Guyana Football Federation (GFF) under the ‘Team Integrity’ banner, competing against his most ardent rival, eminent Attorney-at-Law, Nigel Hughes, who led Team Unity.
Forde held his ground and eventually prevailed by a 12-10 margin.
Now, months later, Forde contemplates on the challenges faced and his chartered path for the sport that has endured more than its fair share of administrative and other adversities.
“Those seeking to voice adverse opinions must firstly remember that my executives had just transitioned out of the Normalization Committee and we were picking up from where those officials left off,” explained Forde. He said that despite the challenge of limited funding his group successfully ran off several tournaments including the Stag Elite League, the Genesis and then finally, the Champions of Champions spectacle which Slingerz won. Local footballers also played the Canadian Olympic team but despite losing 5-2, Forde believes that the local players garnered valuable experience for the future. “Outside of the league we also focused on the distaff group and managed to facilitate the funding for the Lady Jags Olympics Qualifier,” Forde proudly exhorted.
Football administration is a trying task and Forde admitted that his executives had to make strong decisions even against the odds. He said that just after the Golden Jaguars had exited the World Cup Qualifiers they huddled and collectively agreed to reactivate the team which led to the match against Suriname in late February which the local ball weavers won 2-0.
Forde also pointed to the systematic approach where the Suriname friendly was used as preparation for the Caribbean Football Union/Scotia Bank Caribbean Cup (CFU/SBCC) tournament, the match with the Canadian National team and the successful staging of the Congress. The CFU/SBCC tournament is now in its 3rd round and the local team is grouped with Jamaica and Suriname. Mr. Forde also lauded the efforts of his executives who collectively organized the last Congress on May 28 last. “Those activities put a strain on our coffers since the GFF picked up the payroll for almost every one of those functions,” explained Forde.
While he admitted that indeed local players are in dire need of international exposure Mr. Forde revealed that the cost is prohibitive, just around $5M per match, thus necessitating corporate intervention. He singled out the efforts of officials of the Guyana Olympics Association (GOA) for a timely donation in excess of $500,000 towards the liquidation of expenses for the Lady Jags progression.
Mr. Forde said that amidst the many financial and other challenges GFF executives were still able to rebuild the Golden Jags which he referred to as the ‘Flagship Brand.’ “The Golden Jags is our flagship brand and necessitates careful attention since it attracts the bulk of corporate support which in turn can augment our youth development programmes,” explained Forde.
He further said that the emphasis placed on the senior national team is by no way at the expense of that placed on the development of the nursery and other young ball weavers. “Instead, such ploys serve to encourage the corporate community to partner with us in shaping the product even as we focus on youth development,” said Forde. He said that their efforts have been successful following the intervention of the CEO of the National Milling Company (NAMILCO), Bert Sukhai. The latter individual has committed some $30 million dollars over a five years period towards a developmental programme of U17 players. This gesture coupled with the Scotia Bank Youth Academy Training Centers, to be established countrywide, paves the way for an exciting culmination for youth football.
Amidst these revelations, Forde said that this initiative has been further extended to the schools and his executives are currently engaging officials of the Ministry of Education and a committee has been established to oversee the implementation of the programme. Mr. Forde is adamant that “The GFF’s ultimate objective is the development of the game.” Consequently, he assures that every decision made is done with an overarching desire to see the sport progress to the benefit of all of the stakeholders.
Quizzed on his plans to charter the sport Forde replied, “FIFA has agreed to substantially increase the grant and we expect the disbursement for the first quarter very soon.” He said that the receipt of the grant will enable him to address outstanding liabilities to the extent of bringing a semblance of equilibrium to the Federation’s finances.
Nevertheless, despite the increased FIFA grant, Forde remains adamant that much more ought to be done towards the development of the local footballers. He remains firm that government and corporate intervention must be a part of the mix if his staff is to realize the general objective and if the GFF can truly boast of progression.
Quizzed on the challenges associated with the job Forde replied, “My sleeping hours has been drastically reduced to 4-5 hours a night and I literally slave seven days a week addressing football business. I have given up every aspect of my social life but realize it is for the good of the game. I am confident that this is only for a short period while I get a firm feel of the situation and I am sure that things will resort to some normalcy soon.”

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