GFF first in CONCACAF to adopt DTMS

The Guyana Football Federation (GFF) became the first member association of the CONCACAF region to adopt the Domestic Transfer Matching System (DTMS), says FIFA’s DTMS Project Coordinator Semira Jawdat.

This proclamation was made July 13th at Olympic House during her opening remarks of a two-day training workshop. The aim of the forum was to build capacity among the staff of the GFF Secretariat, Member Associations and Clubs on the use of the DTMS.

“Today is not only training in using the system, or on exercising it, or giving you compliance advice. Today is also a new chapter for the Guyana Football Federation, its affiliated clubs and Regional Associations. It is a great moment because it’s the first member of CONCACAF to adopt DTMS,” said Jawdat.

The DTMS is the national version of the International Transfer Matching System (ITMS). With the DTMS, the federation and its clubs have the ability to manage and monitor their domestic transfer activity, generate statistics and reports, speed up the transfer process and store required documents online, safely. As an extension of the ITMS, the system allows the federation to access international and domestic transfers in one place.

Jawdat, who works in FIFA’s Global Transfers and Compliance Department, added, “We’ll see how to improve the system according to your needs because the system is not static. It will and it tries to accommodate your needs.”

Meanwhile GFF’s President Wayne Forde said, “We know that movement of players has been a very contentious issue in Guyana’s football for many years. We now have an opportunity to have a platform where we can do this in a very structured and transparent manner that will certainly serve the interest of our efforts to professionalize football in Guyana.”

FIFA’s Training and Support Coordinator, Maria Stracke, said, “All transfers are being handled in the same way and it’s about fairness.” Also included in the team is Hector Navarro, Legal Counsel, TMS Compliance.

The first day of the workshop catered for key GFF’s Secretariat staff and Regional Associations Representatives, who will interface with the system while the second day targeted representatives from the clubs.