GFF president insists no breach of contract with Elite clubs ……chides former NC Chairman for remarks

 

By: Ras Wadada

THE accusation by some Elite Clubs that the Guyana Football Federation (GFF) has breached contractual arrangement has been dismissed by the head of the Federation, Wayne Forde.
“The primary concern that our members raised in their objections had to do with the existence of a contract, and as I had stated earlier in a Press Conference, similar to this one, that I could only assume that the members were referring to the Rules and Regulations for the first season of the Stag Elite League…and in fact that is what they were referring to…and when I stated that the Rules and the Regulations, in my opinion and in my own experience as a football Administrator, was never considered to be a contract because of precedence we have seen throughout world football, where even at the FIFA level, tournaments will be disrupted, rules would be adjusted, based on the challenges that a tournament might be experiencing…I wanted to ensure that that position was sound so we reached out to CONCACAF and FIFA and we received guidance that the Rules and Regulations of a Tournament is not a contract.
“The information that we got simply said that the Regulations are issued on the sole authority of the Executive Committee based on the powers conferred by the statutes…that being said, the GFF Executive has the authority to modify the competition’s Regulations and would be entitled to add additional clubs with a purely sporting objective”,stated Guyana’s football President, Wayne Forde,as he addressed the Media last Friday on the contentious issue presented by some Elite Clubs.
The football Chief also took the opportunity to chastise the former Chairman of the FIFA-installed Normalisation Committee (NC) Clinton Urling , who had stated that under his Chairmanship,when the Elite League was established,a contract was indeed signed.
“It also gives me an opportunity to address some of the pronouncements that were made by the former Chairman of the NC where he emphatically stated that there was a contract.
“ I am concerned with those statements that were made, but we felt at the time it was best to exhaust the consultation process before responding.
“My response to the NC Chairman’s engaging in the process or the conversation would be that, perhaps it would have been best to contact the ‘Ex-Co’ or myself directly and get a more balanced perspective as to what was going on and how the matter was unfolding.
I gather from his comments that he had information that essentially was supplied from one side of the argument, and I think that is unfortunate. I could only assume, however, that his firm belief that the Rules and Regulations of a Tournament is a contract,could be attributed to his lack of specific football experience and knowledge”, Forde advised.
Another bone of contention by some of the Elite teams for the new season is the change in the management of the League which was done in the inaugural season by a private organization who, according to a reliable source,was paid millions of dollars for their services. The new arrangement by the GFF is for the clubs to take up this mantle.
“The other objection that we had was the management of the League being allocated to the clubs…some of our members felt that it was going to disrupt the smooth flow of the League and we would not have the level of professionalism.
“The Executive Committee would like to make it clear that the decision to allocate the management of the game day activity of the League is grounded in the fact that we have a mandate and an obligation to empower our members financially…and all, but one of our members, who are venue owners have indicated a willingness and the capacity to manage the ‘Game Day’ event which would include, marking of the ground, putting up the branding, preparation of the venue and all the other activities that go along with game-day planning and organising.
“This is an opportunity for us to make a financial contribution to our members…revenues of course generated from the Game-Day management, we are hoping will go into the development of their youth football programs and other development initiatives that clubs might want to pursue. I think it is a very smart and practical decision and I am looking forward to clubs making full use of that opportunity,” Forde informed the Media.”
The GFF Boss also dismissed the myth that was being spread by some of the Clubs that the addition of two teams will increase the number of games, “In the inaugural competition,teams played a total of 28 games in the four rounds of competition, but the upcoming season will see teams playing a total of 18 games over two rounds of competition,where at the end the Champion will be declared and $6M will be earned.”
Meanwhile, when quizzed by the Media on a correspondence that was circulated to the Media last Thursday from four Elite Clubs seeking mediation through arbitration to resolve the impasse, the President declared that “there is no need for us to engage in any mediation.”
We are guided by the constitution of the GFF Incorporated and our actions does not breach any Constitution or breached any material contract that exists’.
Forde added that while he does not anticipate any club refusing to participate,he further stated that should any team refuse to play then the GFF will have to refer to the measures within the Constitution to deal with any elevation of the situation that may result from the decision to go forward.
The second edition of the GFF-Stag Elite League which is 75 percent funded by the Federation,is set to start on November 13th at the Demerara Cricket Club in Queenstown.

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