Alden Marslowe, president of the Bartica Football Association (BFA) says that any plans and policies for the resumption of football within the Region Seven jurisdiction will be guided and influenced by the decision of the local governing body, the Guyana Football Federation (GFF).
This was disclosed during an exclusive interview with Stabroek Sport yesterday. According to Marslowe, the resumption of football will not occur within the association unless guided by the directive of the federation, despite the government allowing for the staging of events subject to approval by the Ministry of Health.
He declared, “We are guided by the GFF, and whenever the GFF makes that decision to resume football, then we would make that decision and follow along their line.”
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, the government’s release stated.
Organized sporting 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.
Marslowe opined that even if football was green lighted to resume by the relevant authorities, the current health crisis makes it an unwise proposition to stage large competitions, as uncertainty and ambiguity still looms with regards to the Covid-19 virus.
“I don’t think it would be a wise option to stage events in Georgetown due to the mounting cases. In Bartica, we have had a drop or reduction in cases but it’s too soon for the full scale staging of competitions. Probably an exhibition tournament can be staged with limited spectators but to go back to full scale tournaments is much too soon as there is still uncertainty surrounding the virus and the health situation,” he declared.
Marslowe conceded that the association would still analyse the ongoing situation within the region before deciding to resume activities once given the approval by the federation. He also revealed that the region’s premier facility, the Bartica Community Centre is now a Covid-19 quarantine facility, which would hinder and impede any attempts at staging football at the venue if the current situation persists.
Marslowe elaborated, “We would definitely look at the situation on the ground as it relates to Covid-19 and what is the view of the Bartica Health Department before doing anything. The Bartica Community Centre is currently being used as a quarantine facility and they also have quarantine tents next to the ground and the basketball court is being used as a testing site. All these changes are due to the Covid-19 situation and they will have to be rectified and remedied before we can return to action. That is the only venue that we have at the moment,” he said.
