Dear Editor,
I am not one of those persons who would say it’s good that the entire executive of the Upper Demerara Football Association (UDFA) was suspended following an extraordinary congress called by the Guyana Football Federation (GFF) on Friday, January 17, 2014 at the GFF Secretariat in contravention of Article 27 of the constitution. Editor, apart from the imposition of suspensions on the UDFA President and his entire executive for 8 years and 5 years respectively an act which was autocratic, dictatorial, undemocratic and unprofessional, the decision also lacked the accountability and transparency which the GFF President, Christopher Matthias had pledged to uphold upon being elected President. The suspensions arose from the UDFA purportedly defying an earlier ruling of the General Council not to play its Banks DIH sponsored GT Beer finals on January 1, at MSC.
My, oh my! I dare say that the General Council members are the ones who should have been sanctioned, along with the principal players and instigators. Whereas the UDFA like any other association, is tasked with the responsibility of “developing and promoting” the sport of association football, as a semi-autonomous body, no association has to seek the approval of the GFF to organize a competition for its own affiliates.
Rather it’s a formality that the GFF is informed. This also applies to the GFA, since it involved additional teams from outside the jurisdiction of Georgetown. By the way, how is Banks DIH, the sponsor of both tournaments reacting to the entire scenario? Would they attempt to mediate? Further, in accordance with the agenda of the extraordinary congress, was roll call an item? Roll call would have enabled true and meaningful representation of affiliates, based upon previous written submissions of three names, two regular and one alternate.
By the way, does the GFF have a functioning disciplinary committee, whereby any act of indiscipline is forwarded to the committee, which in turn summons a hearing for the offending individual(s) to appear, either represented or unrepresented. They would then proceed to arrive at a decision based upon cross examination and oral submissions. It’s unbelievable that this important aspect was overlooked in defiance of the constitutional requirement.
Isn’t it hypocritical for the GFA to vote after upholding indiscipline? When a member of one of the affiliates of Riddim Squad had spat at a referee and was also verbally abusive, he was not summoned to a disciplinary hearing for months. As a matter of fact, the issue only received attention after the Referees Council had refused to officiate in any match involving Riddim Squad with the player. And the powers that be need to be reminded that Alpha United, as a host of a tournament a few years ago, played a doubleheader on the East Coast while two foreign national teams were engaging each other in a CFU playoff at the National Stadium, Providence; Guyana was also involved in the competition, but was not playing that evening. And there was no sanction.
With administration being the most important aspect of any sport, football still remains in a sad state, moreso, in relation to the convening of the extraordinary congress.
There are a few questions which arise: Firstly, why were minutes of the GFF executive meeting not attached with the notice for the extraordinary congress? Surely this would have enabled the General Council to ascertain if the relevant procedures were in order. Secondly, were affiliates of the GFF given ample time to consult with their respective memberships on the issue for additional input? Thirdly, why was there no objection when both semi-finals were played at MSC and Tucville respectively on December 29, 2014?
And with no Linden side in the third place playoff or the finals in the GFA Banks Beer KO, what adverse effect (if any) would this have had on the attendance at the National Stadium? So with both finals being played 65 miles apart, why is it a big issue?
Meanwhile the players, clubs/executives and other stakeholders of the sport within the UDFA and elsewhere must all in unison denounce this act by Mr Matthias and his associates.
Yours faithfully,
Lester Sealey
