Could the New Year bring an urgent move from FIFA with a normalization committee for Guyana’s football

Jan 02, 2026 Sports

Letter to the Sports Editor

Dear Sports Editor,

Kaieteur Sports – As I look at football in Guyana, I am left to wonder, ask searching questions and call on the relevant stakeholders for action. Don’t be quick to jump and attack this missive or its writer, rather see what I am saying and think hard before you make your judgements.

Guyana’s irrelevance in CONCACAF is unprecedented, heading into the New Year with Curaçao being the only Caribbean nation qualified for the 2026 FIFA World Cup, while Jamaica and Suriname still have a fighting chance of advancing.

The only way to reverse this downward trend is to legally end the tenure of the current Guyana Football Federation (GFF) administration.

The Ministry of Sport and President Irfaan Ali could make representation to urge CONCACAF President, Victor Montagliani, and FIFA President, Gianni Infantino, to possibly implement a FIFA Normalization Committee (NC).

In Trinidad & Tobago, their FIFA NC from March 2020 to March 2024 removed leadership and gave their football landscape a chance to recover.

Sports Ministry trio Kashif Muhammad, Steve Ninvalle and Franklin Wilson as long-standing players in the Guyana football ecosystem, need to focus the President’s attention on this national football crisis.

Even if the merits of the Global Super League cricket tournament are highly questionable, the President has shown in the cricket space, he can use state power to affect a sport.

On November 29th GFF had its ordinary congress, then on December 9th announced its calendar of activities for January 2026 to May 2027.

It had no mention of major corporate sponsors. The kind of national corporate sponsorship GFF needs to further Guyana’s football, such investment is going towards individuals such as K&S and Petra with the KFC International Schoolboys Football Tournament. This tells us everything.

Once more, following the congress, the GFF current executive since taking office in 2015, has no plans for Guyana making a serious play to leave CONCACAF and join CONMEBOL.

Could a potential Guyana FIFA NC benefit from President Ali using his relationship with Brazil’s President to advocate Guyana joining the South America Football Confederation? The power of politics and sports in modern times is a well-established negotiating tactic.

PRESSING GFF QUESTIONS

Why did the GFF appoint a general secretary from India, a nation with no global football pedigree?

Why is Bryan Joseph still GFF’s employing Technical Director?

Why was American Thomas Dooley hired as Golden Jaguars coach, when he has no connection to Guyana, the diaspora or experience working in CFU?

Why is the Providence Stadium not used for international football, when other Caribbean countries use their cricket stadiums?

Why has the GFF only now gotten FIFA’s approval for the final stages of the “Blue Waters” stadium, when on the eve of 2023 GFF made this big announcement? The whole country sees the comical state of that area down Home Stretch Avenue.

Why is this Super16 Cup happening after the “so called” Elite league and why did the GFF not raise major concerns over national player Omari Glasgow playing for Slingerz FC?

What is the financial and development relevance of a local women’s league, when since 2010 the Lady Jaguars senior team’s success has been built on diaspora players?

The Jamaica Football Federation has an outside organisation involved with its star studded Jamaica Reggae Girls, why did the GFF sign a new MOU on October 28th with the “International Supporters Group” to continue being part of the women’s programme?

Why did the lady Jaguars play no international friendlies before the December 2nd 3-1 defeat to Nicaragua? The ladies were inactive since playing Dominican Republic in California, January 2024.

Why were the Lady Jaguars missing so many senior players for the Nicaragua game? Have they retired, were unavailable or declined call-ups?

These specific decisions and trends should scare the living daylight out of the Guyana football world.

The FIFA Normalization committee maybe the urgent New Year wish for Guyana’s football. The Sports Ministry must read the riot act, while the government rings the fire alarm to CONCACAF & FIFA, calling for this global intervention.

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