Dear Editor,
Since a month has not elapsed following Team Integrity’s victory at the GFF’s electoral congress, it may be a bit harsh to judge the Guyana Football Federation’s President. It must be taken into consideration that the individual who is now caught between a rock and a hard place, less than a month ago was President of Fruta Conqueors ‒ an elite club.
Prior to the commencement of the Elite League competition, all eight elite clubs should have attended a debriefing/interaction session, with the coordinators/organisers and the Normalization Committee. Did any club representative, in relation to the payment of prize monies make an inquiry? Were all the prize monies sponsored, and if so, were cheques deposited, or letters of commitment from reputable sponsors guaranteeing payment issued? This was the policy with the previous GFA/GFF administration, under the stewardship of former president, Mr Colin Klass. Though not cast in stone, it worked well in clubs’ favour for over twenty years. It mattered not as to whether the tournament was privately organized or arranged by the GFF.
It was extremely good in terms of the public’s perception that the GFF administration issued a statement the following day in the print media debunking erroneous claims, such as that which appeared in SN captioned ‘Elite League prizes still to be funded’ (December 9). What the GFF administration failed to do was inform the public about where and when the presentation of prizes would take place. Surely, this would have debunked any uncertainty. Further, can it be ascertained if the Elite League was a financial success, a failure or just broke-even?
By the way, with the government donating the winners’ prize of $4,000,000, what is the position with the supposed surplus prize monies, always assuming the competition was entirely sponsored. If there is a surplus, would it be equally divided among the clubs?
By the way, would the delay in the payment of prize monies have any adverse effect on the commencement of the competition in February 2016?
Yours faithfully,
Lester Sealey
