Time to end bickering; focus on football, says Shabazz

BRIDGETOWN, Barbados, CMC – Guyana head coach Jamaal Shabazz believes the time has come for the emphasis to shift from the internal bickering in the Guyana Football Federation, to the development of the national team.

He lauded the intervention of FIFA and the formation of the Normalisation Committee, and said all stakeholders in Guyananow needed to work towards ensuring results on the field.

“FIFA have decided on the Normalisation Committee and the pathway forward so we’ve got to focus on the football on the field,” the Trinidadian said here following last Sunday’s international friendly between Barbados and Guyana.

Jamaal Shabazz
Jamaal Shabazz

“All the people who have argued in Guyana for two years about who should lead, what constitution [should be adopted], none of them played [in Sunday’s game], none of them contributed to the result.”

He continued: “There is no sport called administration. I do not know of a sport called administration. I know of a sport called football and it is a beautiful game.”

The game was the first friendly international for both national teams in some while. However, for Guyana it represented a massive stride forward, especially coming on the heels of the chaos in local football.

With infighting ripping apart the GFF, FIFA last year stepped in to quell the bickering, setting up a Normalisation Committee to run the affairs of football for the next year.

Among its objectives, the committee has been tasked with creating a new constitution and ensuring transparent elections are held.

Shabazz said Sunday’s 2-2 draw with Barbados had given him hope that Guyana’s football was on a good path.

“Football on the field does not lie. Players lie, coaches lie, for sure administrators lie but the football on the field does not lie and it is clear that you can see that we are on the path but we need to play more football,” he pointed out.

“We have to get the boys playing in more leagues and competitions and stop arguing.

“For me I can see a clear pathway forward … all we need now is to get together and put a programme in place and we’ll take off from there.”