Clinton Urling, head of the Guyana Football Federation’s Normalisation Committee, installed by FIFA to run football in Guyana for one year, in an exclusive interview with Chronicle Sport yesterday, has advised that media operatives refrain from rumours and report the facts which emanate from his administrative body.

Urling was at the time responding to comments attributed to Collis Gift, president of the Upper Demerara Football Association (UDFA) which met the Normalisation Committee two Tuesdays ago.

Gift said he felt his group was slighted and accused Urling’s body of even trying to promote the lifting of the suspension of the previous Sharma Solomon UDFA executives.

Speaking about their meeting with associations individually Urling said “We have made no decision on anything. This (meeting with UDFA) was the initial feeling-out discussions talking about unity.”

He added: “I don’t know even why these things are going out to the media. Unless the GFF writes an association and makes an official decision then I think these things should be rumours and these things are not helpful for the sport.”

Lifting UDFA Executives’ Ban?

“We got a meeting Thursday with all the associations, but the idea is moving forward,” Urling further pointed out, while noting that: “It’s all about when the GFF issues something official, that’s our official position. There is not an official position about lifting any ban or doing this or doing that, telling anybody anything. So that’s the approach we are taking. If at the end of the day, our final position is when it comes down and we put it in writing. The GFF will write the clubs and notify them. That’s how we are moving forward with everything we do.”

Year End Football

As it relates to the year-old tournament when asked about sanctioning Urling said, “Once we have not written any club or association officially to have any tournament, proceed as though it’s not.”

He further stated: “We have not issued any official correspondence in that regard. I have come back to the country last night (Sunday-night). We got the application, and the Normalisation Committee is still reviewing that application.
In terms of tournaments at the end of the day, only the Kashif and Shanghai Organisation we have to approve. If our member associations want to hold their tournaments they are free to do so. ”

Urling re-emphasised that the goal of the Normalisation Committee “is trying to get the whole football fraternity come together and work together as one unit.”

(By Joe Chapman)