FIFA Head of Member Associations Primo Corvaro yesterday stated that the revision and bringing up to date the constitution of the Guyana Football Federation (GFF) to that of the rest of the world and parent body FIFA is a work in progress.Corvaro, who along with CONCACAF’s Director of Legal Affairs Marco Leal is in Guyana to spearhead the GFF’s constitutional reform process, has over the last two days, been meeting with a selected group of legal minds and the Normalisation Committee at the Guyana Olympic Association, in an attempt to carry out an obligation by FIFA to reform all the constitutions of their member associations, in some cases making it specific to fit their circumstances in the sport.

Addressing the media, Corvaro pointed out that constitutional reform is not only subjected to Guyana, since it’s a process taking place around the world by FIFA and that they (FIFA/CONCACAF) “will try to find the common ground between what the reality is in Guyana and what is permitted, the principle that has to be implemented in all Association”.
“For example, you need to have a segregation of power, so it means that a member of the committee can’t be a member of the judicial body; that’s one example and this is the limit FIFA will put. But within this framework because we have specific reality of Guyana that we have to put into account,” Corvaro said.
The FIFA official, whose primary objective is to ensure the game’s member associations all act in accordance with the statutes of sport’s world governing body, noted however, that a draft of the new constitution for Guyana is not completed and was reluctant to outline in detail, some of the changes made thus far.
However, Corvaro, in the little that was revealed, said, “The first one is that we will promote a kind of balance in the membership, meaning that today, all the power is in the hands of the regional associations, what we consider as amateur football, compared to elite football and elite football doesn’t mean professional, it means the top league and within FIFA and CONCACAF and also all the confederation, we have to balance and include all stakeholders of the football family, so we will end up with clubs being direct members of the Association, meaning they will have delegates and voting rights.”
He added “It’s important that the elite football which attracts the attention of the youth and the sponsors, will be represented at the GFF Congress. That’s one of the new things of the new constitution.”
As mandated by FIFA, every member association must have at least one female on its executive committee, as the World body seeks to promote gender balance, as such – another feature which will be added to Guyana’s new constitution.
The constitution will also now have provisions to handle ethical issues and also match-fixing along with ways in which issues in the sport can be settled outside the courts.
There will also be no more Interim Management Committees (IMC), as exist presently, with Corvaro pointing out “you can’t have an IMC because with separation of power, you can’t have an executive committee nominating delegates”.
When originally installed last October, the Normalisation Committee was given a lifespan until September of 2015, but, Corvaro said that possibility exists for the term to be extended, just like in several other countries.
“We have FIFA and CONCACAF has nominated the Normalisation Committee until the end of September, they should complete all things mandated by FIFA and this will be done step by step.
“The first one is the adoption of the new constitution for the GFF, but it wouldn’t be only that, but the GFF and the Normalisation Committee will have to convene a first congress to adopt the new constitution and once you have this new constitution adopted we have to implement it before we go to elections.”
“There will be an electoral committee also and an expanded executive, an ethics committee and others but draft will be finalised soon because we still have the deadline set by FIFA”

(By Rawle Toney)