Incumbent Wayne Forde was re-elected to the helm of the Guyana Football Federation (GFF), defeating challenger and former federation boss Franklin Wilson 14-8 yesterday at the entity’s Extraordinary Congress at the National Training Centre, Providence.
Upon the completion of a voting process that also featured a verification recount, Forde was officially declared the winner. Head of ONE CONCACAF and Caribbean Projects, Howard McIntosh, was present to witness the entire process.
Speaking at a post-election press conference, Forde said, “We also want to go on record thanking the members who expressed through the ballot their faith in us for a final four years. Our motivation was driven primarily by our intention to complete the National Training Centre (NTC) and to embark on a monumental project at the Durban Park facility, which we signed with Blue Water Shipping.”
According to Forde, “We will be inviting presidential candidate Mr. Franklyn Wilson and his slate in 21 days from this day to have a heart-to-heart discussion with them and to see how best we can bring them into the planning for the future development of our football. I believe that it is important that, in our own way, we set an example where, while we may have been on opposite sides when we lobbied the members for the office, we can now come together and reconcile any differences we may have had and find a way to work together to move our sport forward.”
He concluded, “We stand as a united team committed to nurturing football development in all corners of Guyana, ready and willing to collaborate with others to ensure the enduring prosperity of this beautiful game.”
Meanwhile, Wilson stated that while he is disappointed at the outcome of the elections, he remains committed to the development of the sport, which is evident by the track record.
