After over three weeks of intense campaigning and Media spotlight ‘D-Day’ has finally arrived for members of the Guyana Football Federation (GFF) to elect, from among the four nominated Candidates, a new leader to chart the course for the sport which has been plundered and ill-managed for over two decades.

It was two years ago that today’s elections were stalled at the Ocean View Hotel when a court injunction filed by the Georgetown Football Association (GFA) stopped the GFF from carrying out the process.
The world governing body for the sport, FIFA, intervened earlier this year and in a few hours the ongoing impasse was resolved and the GFA withdrew the court injunction, more importantly a date was set for the most anticipated and participated elections in the history of Guyana’s football.
To most stakeholders of the sport the court injunction was a blessing in disguise, as within four months, in August the then President and General Secretary of the GFF were both found guilty of corruption and suspended. The bigger boss of the Region was forced to resign and the once seemingly powerful figure of the sport became powerless.
Later this evening when the GFF family meet at their Congress to be staged at the Savannah Suite of the Guyana Pegasus those who are charged with the great responsibilities to vote and make the necessary change must do so with meaningful development for the sport as their guide in casting their votes.
I had the privilege of interviewing and interacting with all the Presidential Candidates leading up to today and while they all sound good with intentions and presented comprehensive manifestoes, there can only be one President elect when the voters are added up.
In my humble opinion, after being requested by the masses and doing my own evaluation of the contenders I have been able to come up with a suitable choice to take over the reign.
The least to football’s most prized post must be Aubrey Major who is a key remnant of the past Administration which to date continues to refuse to say to this Nation what the deal with the world cup game versus Mexico was worth and where are the funds.
He is also a key figure in the pathetic Super League of the GFF and his very close association with disgraced Regional football bosses must be cause for concern.
Any thought given to electing the man who is championing the cause of Unity is a big step backwards. He is extremely optimistic and certainly has whipped up the most endorsements, but the good thing about that is, that those people don’t have a vote where it matters most.
If one was to be elected based on academic background and manifesto presented then Alfred King is a clear winner, but that is far from what is required.
His presence among the contenders is viewed as political in most football circles and that is frightening since we all saw what it has done to our cricket. What is even more disturbing is his denial that one does not need to give up one’s job to be the football chief in a country as diverse as Guyana.
His emphasis is on Administration and training he is quietly confident of rising to the top position and who knows, may well spring a surprise.
For sentimental reasons I would be tempted to go with Ivan Persaud having played with and against him in our time, but because the sport is bigger than us both, I have to be honest and say he will serve our football much better in the area of Technical.
Indeed he possesses the real credentials to be the new leader, but lacks the controlled aggression needed in a leader and more importantly does not seem to have the links with corporate Guyana to make things happen.
His call for Integrity and a positive vision for the sport are important, but he remains my second choice of the pack.
The ‘man’ who has shown he makes things happen, has a good link with corporate Guyana and is advocating the development of human resource gets my nod ahead of all.
He did what the plethora of promoters failed to do and that is share the wealth of what is garnered from the sport. All the teams which participated in the Banks/GFA Tournament received some money, while his persistence in standing up to the autocratic rule of football is most commendable.
I have no doubt with the new direction envisaged for the sport that Christopher Matthias deserves the title more than the rest of the pack, all for the good of the game.