Former national footballers crying foul after GFF cancels financial help
Godfrey Norville
Godfrey Norville

By Daniel Haynes

FORMER National players Godfrey ‘Goddo’ Norville and Birdette Marshall are crying foul over a recent decision by the Guyana Football Federation (GFF) to cancel the provision of financial assistance for the disabled individuals who have served the sport.According to the former players who are blind, the current president Wayne Forde and his executive committee stopped providing compensation for the visually impaired former national players who represented both British Guiana and Guyana.
‘Goddo’, aged 69, said that following the election of Forde in January of 2016, he was informed that the executive committee of the GFF would review his stipend of $12 000 offered as compensation.

However, on March 10, 2016, after not receiving a stipend for the year, the duo of Norville and Marshall were informed via letters signed by General Secretary of the GFF, Deidre Davis, that the stipends had been terminated.
The British Guiana player Noeville said that he tried to get in contact with the GFF boss via telephone on numerous occasions but failed.
“On one occasion I went to Mr Forde’s office after not being able to reach him for some time on the phone … I enquired about the money and he told me to ask Granger and Nagamootoo for it.”

Norville, who started his career at the age of 12 at the Albouystown YMCA Santos, said he began receiving the incentive under GFF president Colin Klass back in 2008.
“Colin told me he had heard about my playing career and contribution to the sport … he asked if I was receiving a pension and decided to give me $8 000 stipend on the 23rd of every month, when I said no to receiving a pension,” contended Goddo.

This remuneration continued under successive football heads and incurred a change to $12 000 in 2013 under then-president Christopher Matthias before head of the FIFA-appointed Normalisation Committee Clinton Urling opted to pay a lump sum of $144 000 at one time instead of monthly.
The 69-year-old Norville, who has learned, played and forgotten more about football than most persons will learn in their entire life is also questioning why after 100 years in existence, the GFF does not have such a system in place to assist players with disabilities.
He hopes that some form of restitution is made while at the same time, a system is implemented where both disabled and veteran players are compensated.

 

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