The beneficiaries of local sports is the worst kept secret in Guyana. That title is laid at the feet of the respective administrators, the ‘brilliant minds’ that are tasked with charting the course of its [Sports] development.
Sport Administration has become the new lottery in Guyana, the now attainable ‘pot at the end of rainbow’ especially for the disciplines that have the global appeal and is woven into the culture and fabric of the Caribbean region.
The paradigm of such an assertion is the Guyana Olympic Association (GOA) and several of its affiliates such, as the Guyana Football Federation (GFF), the Athletics Association of Guyana (AAG) and Guyana Cycling Federation (GCF).
The Guyana Cricket Board (GCB), although not affiliated to the GOA, qualifies in the aforementioned regard because of the tumultuous nature of its existence. Questionable changes to its constitution spring to mind.
For years, these entities have advanced the wrong reasons for the sport to be discussed at a national level, while providing the vehicle for its managers to benefit for extended periods [decades in some case], with nothing to show in terms of achievements and to the detriment of many.
Players have never been at the forefront of hindering the development of sport. They are merely workers for the benefit of their ‘modern day’ administrators, the ‘politicians’ that they elect to do their bidding, but often lose their way, forgetting the purpose of their heralded office.
Players from Slingerz, Alpha United, GFC and Pele were merely pawns in the their clubs boycott of the GFF’s recently concluded second season of the Stag Beer Elite League
Only in Guyana, are athletes treated like second class citizens, despite being the main reason, alongside the ever important fandom for the presence of sports. How else can you explain the current state of our sport landscape? Who are constant travelers to exotic locations for tournaments, congresses, programmes and seminars? First class flights, five star hotels and stipends have replaced the sense of commitment to the original aim.
Business suits create the image, while a silver tongue provides a dialect that disappointingly but realistically, is often beyond the comprehension of many of our cherished resource, the players.
The power associated with administration is intoxicating, which explains why the many positions are hotly contested, especially that of President which is so coveted and desired.
Election time is a ‘Preacher’s Paradise’. This occurs because as former GFF President Christopher Matthias once said, “They are too many jockeys for one horse (Secretariat)”. He was certainly right.
Politics is nothing more than a tool for personal enrichment and sport administration is its doppelganger. Even the referees and staff working within the respective entities possess a better opportunity than the players to benefit from the spoils of the sport.
Players are just expected to play, be preached to and ask no questions. That is the modus operandi of the current establishment often dubbed ‘The Old Boys Club’, whose sole existence is sustained through factions of out of touch and incompetent personalities.
In the same breath that they ‘profit’ from their respective offices, administrators are the whirlpool of sport’s ruin. Many of the controversies that emanate within the respective sporting fraternities are driven by the characters at the helm. Sportsmen are never the root of the disorder, the administrators are the architects of the turmoil that befall the entity due to their inflated egos.
Who says sports is not played in the boardroom?
