OUSTED president of the Guyana Football Federation (GFF) Christopher Matthias has been set down, but he is not out, at least not yet.

He was removed as head of the GFF last Tuesday when FIFA Head of Member Associations Premo Cavaro and COCACAF Director of Legal Affairs Marco Leal met at the Le Meridien Pegasus Hotel, and will in the coming week release the names of the five persons to comprise the Normalisation Committee – to run Guyana’s football affairs for the next 11 months.
Speaking to Chronicle Sport, Matthias said he welcomes any initiative to develop Guyana’s football. He however has one major concern: how will this new FIFA body run Guyana’s affairs, with the same ‘contentious elements in the environment’ fighting for power and money.
He said it’s ironic that the Committee is going to be tasked with the same responsibilities his old executive was pursuing, which are Constitutional reform and structural advancement, even as he met with the administrative staff on Tuesday, hours before FIFA’s official announcement.
Matthias’ executive was set back by the resignation of vice-president Rawlston Adams and the suspension of another vice-president in Collie ‘Hitman’ Hercules. Ivan Persaud an active executive was part of the breakaway faction.
As it relates to the announcement of the Normalisation Committee last Tuesday night, Adams welcomed the setting up of same saying it was a good starting point to getting Guyana’s football ‘back on track’.
“It’s like any planning, you have to have a timeline and then you will evaluate it at some point, monitor it and if they (FIFA) need to, I’m sure they will review, because they want to make sure it’s done right and see if they need extra time and get the football playing.”
Persaud was also present at the briefing and before skipping out, took the time to openly thank FIFA for stepping in.
Guyana in essence missed out on being suspended from FIFA and the setting up of a Normalisation Committee is not a first option, but FIFA thought it best to put the body in place as a ‘show of faith’ as they want to usher in ‘a new era’.
Premo told the media that Matthias’ removal should not be seen as a ‘sanction’ against him or his executive but as a result of a ‘vacuum’ that was created in Guyana’s football.
That aside, Matthias, however, said he had an ‘interesting and intriguing’ time while in office, adding that his executives were able to achieve measured success despite the turmoil, and with limited funding.
He pointed to the encampment of two national teams, the staging of the first ever National Premier League, the national team’s participation in the Caribbean Championships and the payment to some of its creditors.
Matthias said he had no interest in running for any position on the GFF in the near future, adding he has been asked to ‘stay put and be quiet’, even as his removal does not ban him or any member of his executive from participating in any football-related activity, now or in the future.

(By Leeron Brumell)