In excess of 210 days have elapsed since the international friendly against Ethiopia on August 2, 2023, and the Guyana Football Federation (GFF) is still to remunerate the Golden Jaguars senior men’s programme’s contractually bound match-day fees.
This was confirmed by a source close to the national programme, who spoke on the condition of anonymity. According to the source, “The GFF has not paid the match fees for the Ethiopian game, and it’s been more than six months. They have not said when they will pay or give a timeline for the payment; they have not said anything; they are silent. It’s almost like the match never occurred because the players are yet to be paid, and there is nothing concrete coming from the federation as to when the money will be paid. It’s been more than eight months.”
Guyana lost 0-2 to the Ethiopians on August 2, 2023, at Segra Field in Leesburg, Virginia, United States of America.
For the Ethiopia International Friendly, the contract states under the caption “International Friendly vs. Ethiopia 2023 Payments”: “Match Fee: Starter: 100 USD; Match Fee: Substitute Appearance: 50 USD; Match Fee: Unused Substitute: 25 USD; Win Bonus: 50 USD; Draw Bonus: 25 USD; Goal Bonus: 10 USD per goal (maximum bonus of 4 goals); Per Diem: All players: 50 USD per night.” The final date of payment was pencilled in for August 15, 2023.
Efforts to contact GFF General Secretary Ian Alves for a comment proved futile. Calls to his cell phone went unanswered up to press time.
The GFF only recently paid the prize money owed to the top four finishers in the KFC League Cup, which concluded on January 1. The aforesaid tournament commenced on October 15, 2023.
According to the source, “The top four teams in the KFC League Cup only recently received their prize monies; they also had to wait weeks to be paid. I believe that the players from those clubs were concerned that they would have started the Elite League before paying off for the League Cup, which could have caused a massive issue.”
GDF won the League Cup event after defeating the Western Tigers via penalty kicks in the final, while the Guyana Police Force (GPF) bested the Buxtonians in the third-place playoff.
The army unit was owed $1,500,000, while Western Tigers, GPF, and Buxton United were owed $500,000 and $250,000, respectively. The total amount owed to the four teams was approximately $3,250,000.
