Re: Football and its continued under-development
THE Guyana Football Federation president, Mr Colin Klass, will be re-elected unopposed for another four-year term when the GFF convenes its Annual General Meeting later this month, following the closure of nominations on Saturday, March 19, 2011 at the GFF Secretariat.
Another sad chapter in the nation’s troubled football administration will once again rear its ugly head, via the “hidden hand” of Mr Klass, in relation to the election of the Second Vice-president, the second of three positions to be contested.
The other position to be contested is the Assistant Secretary (Organising) which is currently being occupied by Mr Aubrey ‘Shanghai’ Major.
However, with Mr. Franklin Wilson the current the Second Vice-president not seeking re-election, two individuals, namely Messrs Aubrey Hutson and Alfred King; presidents of East Demerara and the Guyana Football Referees Council respectively, have both received their respective nominations for the post.
It is no secret that Klass has already contacted affiliates with voting rights to support the candidate of his choice, Mr Hutson, for the Vice-presidency. By and large, what has King done to Klass and football that after a period of ten years, he cannot be given a clear passage to the Vice-presidency? Or is it because he is the Permanent Secretary within the ruling government?
Mr Editor, common sense would tell any primary school student that King, by virtue of being a P.S. in the Ministry of Culture, Youth & Sport, would be ideal for the GFF to foster a more meaningful relationship with the government, but from all indications Mr Klass doesn’t need this.
In the final analysis Mr Hutson remains a tried and proven failure on the East Coast,  an association  that until now cannot get its act together with a sustained level of competition, encompassing Under-11, -13, -15, -17, -19, -21 and seniors.
In fact, this association has caused the GFF substantial wastage of monies on matches that were replayed in various GFF competitions. In addition to his poor role as a national team manager it must be noted that he is a weak decision-maker as a member of the cash-strapped GFF Finance Committee.
Hutson has never championed any cause of cost-cutting expenses, albeit the rehiring of George Rutherford as a Deputy General Secretary; elimination of monthly stipend for executive members and closure of non-productive association offices.
Is this the type of individual football needs? Definitely not, but rather King, who in his ‘kingdom’ of refereeing has moved that “august-body” progressively over the years from point A to B.
Sir, once again like the un-cunning spider, Mr Klass continues to spin his web of deceit, at the expense of contributing to the further under- development of the sport, with the installation of lackeys. At what and whose cost would the excessive and overweight baggage of Hutson be?
With King as the elected Second Vice-president, the long-awaited Goal Project-Training Facility will get off the ground. Since King’s involvement with the synthetic track would be an asset, unlike Hutson, who cannot even oversee a proper ground preparation in his association.