Funds, the usual bugbear facing Guyana’s sportsmen and women and the issuance of visas for England and Italy could affect Guyana’s chances of attending this year’s World Amateur Boxing Championships in Milan, Italy.
So said president of the Guyana Amateur Boxing Association (GABA) Affeeze Khan yesterday.
According to the GABA president, his association has been allocated two spots for boxers to attend a preparatory training camp ahead of the World Championships which takes place from August 27 to September 13.
Khan yesterday told Stabroek Sport that the International Boxing Association (AIBA) had implemented a new programme where countries that cannot afford to properly prepare their boxers for the Worlds’ can participate in a training programme for two weeks prior to the commencement of the championships.
He said the boxers would be given free air tickets as well as accommodation for the training programme to be held from August 10- 26 in Assise City.
AIBA, Khan added, will take care of all the expenses for the boxers’ participation in Milan.
Some 18 boxers and five coaches drawn from Caribbean countries except Puerto Rico, Cuba and the Dominican Republic, will participate in the camp which forms part of AIBA’s “Road to Milan” programme Khan said the GABA had selected two 20-year-olds in featherweight Clive Atwell and lightweight Aubrey Moore to attend the camp and the subsequent championships.
National coach Clifton Moore has been earmarked to accompany the boxers if the association can come up with approximately US$4000.
However, there is a snag in that it takes approximately three to four weeks for visas for Italy to be processed in the nearest country which is Venezuela, Khan said.
He informed that AIBA has sought the assistance of Patricia Stuelet in seeking to have the visas acquired much quicker.
“We have been advised by the Italian Consulate in Guyana that we need to send our passports to Venezuela for the issuance of a visitor’s visa which will take three to four weeks. We are still trying to see how possible it is to avoid the long delay,” Khan said.
“If we are unable to acquire the visas from the British High Commission in the USA and the Italian Embassy in Venezuela, it is hardly likely that Guyana will be represented at the training camp and the world championships,” Khan said.
However, AIBA has warned that should the association for any reason be unable to send the boxers to the camp and World Championships, after the tickets have been issued, the association would receive no further funding from AIBA’s Grant Programme in the future.
Khan said a special meeting is being arranged Tuesday afternoon at 5pm at Olympic House to discuss the invitation letter.
All the coaches are invited.
