Dear Editor,
The Guyana Football Federation President, Mr Colin Klass will be elected unopposed for another four-year term when the GFF convenes its Annual General Meeting this month, following the closure of nominations on Saturday, March 19 at the GFF Secretariat. A sad chapter in the nation’s troubled football administration will once again rear its ugly head in relation to the election of the 2nd Vice-President, the second of three positions to be contested. The other is that of the Assistant Secretary Organizing, which is currently being occupied by Mr Aubrey ‘Shangai’ Major.
However, with Mr Franklin Wilson, the current 2nd Vice-President not seeking re-election, two individuals namely, Messrs Aubrey Hutson and Alfred King, Presidents of East Demerara and the Guyana Football Referees Council respectively, have both received their respective nominations for the post. And it is no secret that Mr Klass has already contacted affiliates with voting rights to support the candidate of his choice, Mr Hutson, for the vice-presidency. What has King done that after a period of ten years he cannot be given a clear passage to the vice-presidency? Is it because he is the Permanent Secretary within the ruling government? Editor commonsense would tell any primary school student that Mr King, by virtue of being a PS in the Ministry of Culture, Youth & Sport would be ideal for the GFF to foster a more meaningful relationship with the government. But from all indications Mr Klass doesn’t need this.
In the final analysis Mr Hutson remains a tried and proven failure on the East Coast, an association that up until now cannot get its act together with a sustained level of competitions, encompassing under 11,13,15,17,19, 21 and seniors. Rather it has caused the GFF to waste substantial money with matches being replayed in various GFF competitions. In addition there is Mr Hutson’s poor role as a national team manager along with his weak decision-making as a member of the cash-strapped GFF Finance Committee. There he never championed the cause of cost-cutting, the elimination of monthly stipends for executive members and the closure of non-productive association offices. Is this the official football needs? Definitely not, but rather Mr King, who in his ‘kingdom’ of refereeing has moved that ‘august body’ progressively over the years from point A to point B.
With Mr King as the elected 2nd Vice-President, the long-awaited Goal Project-Training Facility will get off the ground, and Mr King’s involvement with the synthetic track would be an asset. This is unlike Mr Hutson, who has not overseen a proper ground preparation in his association.
Yours faithfully,
Orin Davis
