Two Sundays ago, on 20th March, an incident occurred at the Cliff Anderson Sports Hall (commonly referred to as the Sports Hall) on Home-stretch Avenue in Georgetown. The Lenny Shuffler Senior Women’s Volleyball Champion-ship, the initial post-Covid tournament and the first of its kind in over two years, was being hosted by the Guyana Volleyball Federation (GVF). Three teams from out of town, namely St Cuthbert’s Mission on the Linden-Soesdyke Highway, Hopetown and New Amsterdam both in Berbice journeyed to Georgetown to do battle with Castrol Strikers, Classic Ball Blasters and Eagles. The six teams were divided into two groups for round robin play, with the top two advancing from each pool.
In the mid-afternoon, between 4.30 and 5.00 pm, after St Cuthbert’s Mission defeated Castrol Strikers in the first semi-final, and the players were getting ready to face the Classic Ball Blasters, who had soared over the Eagles in the other semi-final, the proceedings were unceremoniously brought to a screeching halt. A group of 12 to 15 Futsal (indoor football) players had arrived earlier at the venue, including President of the Guyana Football Federation (GFF) Wayne Forde, a few members of the GFF Secretariat and their friends. This gaggle did not include any member of the national squad, which, at the said time, was involved at a training session at the Leonora Track and Field Facility. They had reportedly gone there to have a ‘kick around,’ or in Guyanese parlance, partake in a ‘scrubby.’
Allegedly, the GVF officials were subsequently informed by security at the venue that they had received a telephone call from the National Sports Commission (NSC) ordering the volleyball players to cease play. The very disappointed young ladies, who had spent a lot of time preparing for the tournament, and many of whom had travelled a great distance were forced to depart the Sports Hall just on the cusp of the final. It should be noted at this point in time that the equivalent Men’s tournament was held two weeks prior at the same venue without any interruption.
The disturbing episode, which comes just 12 days after Guyana and the rest of the world celebrated International Women’s Day, can only be described as an act of bullyism, demonstrating a complete lack of respect, not only to women, but also to the GVF.
The fact that this ugly matter points directly at the GFF should come as no surprise, and just adds another blotch to its already disfigured facade. In the past few years, this column has highlighted a series of events which should have pushed the members of any self-respecting national executive sports body/federation to hang their heads in utter shame, and resign en masse. However, it appears that they lack shame and decorum.
Among the numerous castigations directed at the GFF was the year-long dragging of its feet over the complaint of conditions of service by female referees (Complaint by female football referees, SN editorial 12th March, 2018). Then there was the exposé about the lack of gender parity in compensation for the Lady Jaguars (Guyana’s female footballers) when wearing the national colours (More than a matter of sport, SN editorial 13th April, 2021). There was also its sloth-like approach to assisting the mother of a young girl who was being scouted by Manchester United (An inept GFF, SN editorial 6th October, 2021).
Of more recent vintage, was the fiasco at the finals of the GFF/Kashif and Shanghai Futsal Championship on 8th of January, at the said venue. In the presence of Prime Minister Mark Phillips (Head of the National Covid-19 Task Force), Minister of Public Works Juan Edghill and Minister of Culture, Youth and Sport (MCYS) Charles Ramson Jr, the organising officials stood by idly allowing the facility to be filled way beyond normal capacity, flouting Covid-19 protocols and guidelines. The evidence of these violations – lack of enforcement of face masks and social distancing – was widely circulated on social media, both locally and in the diaspora, much to the horror of everyone.
As the GFF was never sanctioned for its recalcitrant attitude of flouting the rules and regulations, the resort to the ‘Don’t you know who we are’ card two weekends ago was not surprising. Then again, the Futsal players probably expected the female volleyball players to instantaneously apologise for the inconvenience that they were creating and start scrambling for the changing rooms. Disappointed, and obviously peeved at this apparent lack of recognition, the Futsal players stooped to the shallow and callous act of appealing to a voice of authority to instruct the security to evict the ‘intruders’ from ‘their’ Sports Hall.
Will the Minister of Sport hold an enquiry into this sordid behaviour? What questions will be asked? Who called whom? Who issued the directive to stop the volleyball tournament? It’s suggested that you don’t hold your breath waiting for that scenario to become a reality. Perhaps, the minister should be reminded of his words when there was a previous imbroglio involving the GFF and the usage of a national sports venue. Following the staging of the Kashif and Shanghai Bounce Back Football Tournament (which was co-sponsored by the GFF and MCYS) at the National Stadium at Providence on 29th December, 2020 and 1st January, 2021, the minister denied the report carried by this newspaper that the cricket pitches at the venue had been badly damaged, in spite of photographic evidence. He had stated, “Let’s be clear that the Guyana National Stadium is not owned by anyone; it’s owned by the people of the country. It’s not owned by any sport, it is owned by the various sports which require its usage in order for them to be able to advance their standing nationally and globally.” (Trouble in battalions, SN editorial, 3rd February, 2021). It goes without saying that these words should also apply to the Cliff Anderson Sports Hall, the National Gymnasium on Mandela Avenue, and the National Track and Field Facility at Leonora.
