UNLESS the Kashif and Shanghai (K&S) organisation and the Georgetown Football Association (GFA) fulfil the requirements stipulated by Guyana Football Federation (GFF), their respective tournaments will not be given the GFF’s blessings.

In an exclusive interview with Chronicle Sport, GFF’s president Christopher Matthias said both organisations made applications to host their respective tournaments and while they were not given a deadline for submission, they were written to requesting that they adhere to the Federation’s requirements. “But to date, they have not fulfilled all the requirements,” Matthias said.
He said that one of the stipulations is: any organisation wishing to stage a football tournament must do so through one of the GFF’s affiliates.
He said it was only recently that the Kashif and Shanghai organisation applied to stage their tournament through the Guyana Women’s Football Association whose president is an executive of the GFF.
Other requirements before approval is given include: the organisation must submit the rules of the competition, must submit a budget, fixtures, confirmation from participating clubs that they (club) read the rules and indicate that they (club) are willing to participate under the said rules.
The organisation must also submit their security and medical details and must lodge the prize money or a letter from the sponsor of the particular prize/s indicating that the individual or company has agreed to sponsor the prize.
The organisation must also lodge the levy fee.
Asked what requirements Kashif and Shanghai and the GFA have not submitted as yet, Matthias declined to comment only stating that it is basic things.
Matthias said while no deadline was set for the submission of requirements this year, a deadline will definitely be set come next year. “They will be given a two-month deadline period,” he indicated.
It has been reported in another section of the media that co-director of the Kashif and Shanghai organisation Aubrey `Shanghai’ Major is seeking the intervention of the Confederation of North, Central America and the Caribbean’s (CONCACAF) to resolve the issue of the staging of the Kashif and Shanghai and GFA Banks Beer yearend football tournaments before it reaches the courts of Guyana.
Major, in an e-mail sent to CONCACAF’s president Jeffrey Webb, stated that he was forced to seek CONCACAF’s intervention.
“The Kashif and Shanghai tournament is in limbo after 23 years,” Major stated in his e-mail adding “now in its 24th year has to make way for the GFA banks Beer tournament”.
He said the birth of the GFA tournament came about during the period of the court injunction by the GFA against the GFF between 2010 and 2012.
Since 2010, the two tournaments have been held simultaneously.
Meanwhile, the Kashif and Shanghai tournament had its genesis 23 years ago involving four teams from the mining town of Linden and the first prize money was a mere $400.