Colonel Bruce Lovell and Competitions Coordinator of the Guyana Football Federation (GFF) Lawrence Griffith have refuted reports that they are interested in contesting positions on behalf of the Georgetown Football Association (GFA) at the upcoming elections on May 27.
Lovell told Stabroek Sport yesterday that he was approached twice by separate officials of the GFA to be a nominee who will contest one of the three positions at the GFF elections but on both occasions he had declined.
He disclosed yesterday that he had said he did not “want to enter into a dog fight and declined participation.”
Lovell, who is basically an outsider, with no attachment to a club or sub association, indicated that if it was a case where the GFA had no other candidate he might have considered running for a position at the upcoming polls.
Stabroek Sport had learnt on Thursday from the GFA Secretary Christopher Matthias, that the body’s General Council had elected Odinga Lumumba as the presidential candidate for the GFA to challenge long standing president of the GFF Colin Klass. Dr. Joseph Haynes was nominated as the vice-presidential candidate and Griffith as the organizing secretary.
Matthias had also said that Lovell had received one vote as a presidential nominee despite his absence, with Lumumba receiving eight votes and Matthias receiving three. Griffith was nominated based on the work that he does with the GFF.
Yesterday, Lovell said he was surprised when he saw in the newspaper article headlined “Lumumba gets nod to challenge Klass at May 27 elections” that his name was put up for nomination.
Griffith, on the other hand in a letter to Matthias, wrote that he was informed on April 27 at about 23:00 hours that he was nominated to contest the post of Organising Secretary of the GFF. He stated in the letter that the next day he told Matthias, “I had no ambition to run for any office.
“I also informed you that as an employee of the GFF it would not be the correct thing for me to be running for an elected position. I also advised you that if I have an interest in any elected position I would have to resign as an employee of the GFF and I am not prepared to do so.
“I also had a discussion with the President, Mr. Vernon Burnett who accepted my wishes and supported me. Please also be reminded that you acceded to my wish that my name be not tendered for any position,” Griffith wrote.
Griffith also stated that his “foremost ambition” is to see football develop and played in a fair manner, reiterating that “he is comfortable working with the GFF as the Competitions Coordinator and not Chairman of the Competitions Committee as was stated in the article.
“To my dismay and shock, I saw in the daily Stabroek newspaper amongst other things, that I was nominated by the GFA for the post of Assistant Secretary/ Treasurer.
I would like to make it categorically clear that I am not interested in any elected position not now and in the foreseeable future. By a copy of this letter the Stabroek News will be so informed of my decision,” said Griffith.
When Stabroek Sport contacted Matthias yesterday he pointed out that the suggestion was made to Griffith and he did not decline being nominated. Therefore, this was the reason Griffith’s name was offered to the General Council of the GFA on April 27 and was unanimously elected.
Matthias stated that these are just nominations and Griffith had an opportunity to decline when the suggestion was made to him. Concerning Lovell’s claims, Matthias said he was not aware that he had no intention of seeking nomination.
