UDFA president of Wainwrght Bethune calls ‘make or break’ Special General Council Meeting this evening at M &TC boardroom

Sep 20, 2023 Sports

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…clubs asked to be represented

Kaieteur Sports – When the Upper Demerara Football Association (UDFA) General Council holds a Special General Council Meeting this evening from 7.00pm in the Mayor and Town Council Boardroom, very serious deliberations will take pace with regards the staging of a senior football competition to facilitate a club playing in the Guyana football federation’s Elite League championship.

President of the UDFA Wainwright Bethune obviously acknowledges that football, like so many other sports, has found itself in dire straits, as a suitable playing venue, in the absence of the Mackenzie Sports Club which is being modernized, has seriously affected sports in the region.

The appeal therefore is for the presidents and secretaries of the affiliated clubs and his UDFA Executives to show up to arrive at a position that can take football forward.

Looking at the situation Bethune asserted: “We obviously cannot run a Senior League for various reasons; one-we were unable to secure a sponsorship and, part of the issue is that the UDFA Executive did not acquire sponsorship as early as we should. And the reason for that too is that the GFF after the last President’s Cup; we were uncertain if they are going to start just like last year, so when we waiting for the programme to start when they brought it, they brought it in the middle of the inclement weather and all other things to go with it.”

Looking at the situation frontally Bethune, without holding back, remarked: “But the biggest issue in Linden now is appropriate sporting facilities; note I did not say football. Because even things like athletics now is under threat. I think with the repairs to the MSC and the date, time of expectation for finish is not being communicated that is, no other ground in Linden was prepared properly to accommodate sports such as football, and so we find ourselves in a position where we are looking at various options; and only two we narrowed down to; and even those two are not suitable because it could bring a lot of injuries to players.”

Two venues were eventually being considered by the UDFA after technical teams and the UDFA executives examined what outfields were being considered and according to him, “The Wisburg ground which is in a school yard, last year we had the experience when we had preliminaries for the President’s Cup, how the people, fans going into the class taking out furniture, a lot of smoking of weed and other stuff around the ground, there is inadequate policemen to control that, all of which comes at a cost, so we are more skeptical of playing there.

But all the other grounds in Linden which we walked, including the Silvertown All Stars and retrieve Community grounds, with the referees and other football knowledgeable persons, are not suitable for First Division football, and so we are in this limbo, where the teams are even kind of pulled back because they don’t have the interest for playing of football especially on grounds with those conditions.”

However, the leading UDFA official added, “We had an issue with playing day time too, because most of the teams are saying that their players are employed and days like Saturdays and Sundays to come out and play like 1.00pm and 3.00pm games is very difficult, but it is a position we held strong to because you need the daylight to play with the availability of the MSC. So the major issue is the ground and the clubs now being uneasy, given the conditions we are asking them to play under.”

This evening’s crucial UDFA General Council Meeting therefore could have serious implications for the beautiful game, knowing that at stake will eventually be if Region 10 (Upper Demerara/Upper Berbice) will have representation in the prestigious GFF Elite League, as time is running out for such a club to be arrived at. The last club to play in the GFF Elite League was Milerock FC.

Bethune commented: “So we basically narrow down to secure that we provide a team to the GFF by next month for the Elite League. If we don’t, then no Linden team would be playing in the Elite League.  I am trying to see if I can salvage the situation by reaching the clubs this evening and see if we could start some games during the week, even if we are going to narrow it down to, I don’t know how many playing dates or whatever, but even if some of the teams refuse to play, whoever willing to play I am going to play that and ensure that, so whichever team goes to the GFF.”

Further Bethune stated, “So that is the position that football has found itself in without a home to call its own. Sponsorship is very difficult, more-so I think a lot if it got to do with in my opinion it might be a bit political, because you see other people getting football to be played, the smaller version of the game for higher sum from what the regular version of the game should get. Obviously I think it comes from mostly the kind of contacts and the kind of affiliation that they might get, which is a sad thing for the game itself and the youngsters who really want to push, they are being sidestepped and submit themselves to that level of the game.”

Looking at the state of affairs to run the game Bethune noted, “And so this is the quandary that we find ourselves in, honestly without the ground and giving us a ground that would give us some sense of income, I don’t know if or how we can sustain ourselves, because you do not have seating capacity, you do not have nowhere comfortable for the people and people are not going to pay $1,000 to go and stand up to watch a game and there is no security. It’s just a sad state of football and I guess being at the helm you get blame for it but if people really understand, it is not too much that you can do.”

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• acknowledges, Special General Council Meeting, UDFA President, Upper Demerara Football Association, Wainwright Bethune

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