… Chairman Clinton Urling looks forward to changing Guyana’s football landscape

Chairman of the Guyana Football Federation (GFF) Normalisation Committee, Clinton Urling, says that the body will serve in the best interest for Guyana and strive for the development of the sport.

Yesterday, Urling, the former Chairman of the Georgetown Chamber of Commerce and Industry, vice-president of the Guyana Olympic Association (GOA) Dr Karen Pilgrim, former squash player and executive Tariq Williams, Stewart May and Rabin Chandarpal were named by FIFA and CONCACAF as the Normalisation Committee responsible for football in Guyana.
The Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) Head of Member Associations Premo Cavaro and CONCACAF’s Director of Legal Affairs Marco Leal announced on Tuesday, October 21 that a Normalisation Committee will run Guyana’s football until September 2015.
The sport’s governing body’s ruling means that the Christopher Matthias-led Executive has been disbanded and will have no place in football.

Atop the long list of priorities for the five-member committee, apart from managing the day-to-day activities of the country’s football will be to adopt the new constitution of the GFF; to amend the current one and to organise elections according the new constitution.
Speaking exclusively yesterday with Chronicle Sport, Urling said that he’s confident in the established committee given the professional portfolio of its members.
“We have people with expertise in business management, marketing and one with a great amount of knowledge about sports and how things should be done correctly, so this is something we’re all looking forward to, because in the end of what we have been mandated to do, Guyana will benefit tremendously,” Urling noted.
The German’s Restaurant proprietor said that personally, chairing the Normalisation Committee is a “complimentary challenge” and one that he looks forward to, noting “we are all doing this voluntarily; we’re not being paid a salary but we’re all looking forward to working together on this”.
Urling said that while it’s important for them (the committee) to work with all stakeholders of the sport, it’s also imperative that a relationship is established with the media since “the press plays an important role in what we have to do, so will be looking to work closely with them”.
A press conference is arranged for Friday at the GFF head office in Georgetown where Urling promised to give in full details, the extent of work that was asked by FIFA for the committee to carry out along with other key information.
It was stated by Cavaro, that “the Normalisation Committee, has the same power and duty like the executive committee; it’s exactly the same, but nominated by FIFA that’s the difference, meaning the chairman of the Normalisation Committee will have the same power like the president of the GFF. He will be the one responding to FIFA as president”.
Meanwhile, CONCACAF’s Director of Legal Affairs Marco Leal said “Let’s hope that the tasks and the work done by the Normalisation Committee with the help of the whole football family can restore harmony in Guyana’s football because we don’t want to discuss what consequences of not achieving this objective would be.
“This Normalisation Committee is not elected by the Congress (of the GFF) but appointed by FIFA so this body cannot be removed internally; FIFA appoints it and FIFA removes and this is a show of faith in Guyana’s football”.

(By Rawle Toney)