Despite the government allowing for the resumption of sports activities upon Ministry of Health’s approval, Secretary of the West Demerara Football Association (WDFA) Adrian Giddings, is opposed to this development due to the lack of Covid-19 testing mechanisms and protocols.
This was disclosed during an exclusive interview with Stabroek Sport yesterday. According to Giddings, the lack of testing infrastructure complicates any attempt to resume football nationally especially within his jurisdiction, as player safety will not be guaranteed under the circumstances.
He declared, “While I can only speak for myself, I don’t think it would be a wise idea for the association to stage any event. I don’t think it would be good, if I am to go ahead with something at the association level, I would inform the clubs and players that taking part in any event would be at their own risk. Until we can do testing before and after games, I don’t think it’s safe because you don’t know where the players frequent and dwell and we don’t do contact tracing in the sporting arena. Unless we can test before and after, I would say to the clubs that taking part would be at your own risk in any tournament.”
The government’s new Covid-19 measures and guidelines allow for sport events to be staged once approval is sought and granted by the Ministry of Health. The updated measures, which were issued in the Official Gazette on October 30th, took effect on November 1st and will remain in effect until November 30th, unless terminated prior, extended or amended by notice of the Minister of Health after an assessment of the prevailing public health situation. Organized sports events have been cancelled since March of this year following the recording of the country’s first case and eventual mortality due to the virus.
“I share the view as it relates to the temperature gauge. I previously asked a doctor how effective this approach is and he said it’s not very effective, because not every individual will show signs of fever or are individuals going to show signs of fever 24/7. Until we can reach a stage that we can test each player before and after, then it’s not safe, even if we just have the players in the venue, their families will be at risk because they will have to go home and socialize, and we can’t create a secure environment and keep them there. I don’t think football should resume, it’s going to take a while more.”
According to Giddings, while the association would seek approval from its parent entity, the Guyana Football Federation (GFF), before exploring any avenue in resuming their football activities, reservations would be highlighted about the possible and eventual dangers associated with any resumption.
He elaborated, “Most definitely I would seek approval from the GFF before even considering the idea of resuming play but I would let them know of our reservations in going forward with any tournament. As much as players would want to play, and as much as I honestly want football to resume, I would take the safety of the players in consideration first. Without the players we have no sport. I would be a selfish person to start back now and there would be no development in playing football now, it would basically be playing for the sake of it. I don’t believe that the GFF should sanction any tournament at this time. While I am speaking about football, I also share the view that generally about all sports.”
