THE Normalisation Committee of the Guyana Football Federation (GFF) sought clarification from the Caribbean Football Union (CFU) and CONCACAF on the local clubs that were eligible to participate in the 2016 CFU Club Championships and was given a response by CONCACAF’s Director of Competitions, Mr Horace Reid, who confirmed that the 2013-2014 winners would not qualify, according to the CFU regulations.Reid also noted that since Guyana does not have a league champion, no club from any other competition is eligible to participate.
He noted, however, that on completion of the STAG Elite League in 2016, Guyana would be able to participate in the 2017 CFU Club Championships.
Guyana’s previous top league was completed in January 2014 and none was restarted as a result of the Federation being embroiled in administrative turmoil, which led to FIFA installing a Normalisation Committee to run the affairs of the Federation in October 2014.
The Elite League was restarted in September 2015 with many of the clubs having to meet rigorous Club Licensing requirements to participate.
However, it seems as though the CFU might be side-stepping its own rules. According to the CFU, all Caribbean league champions and runners-up are invited to participate in the tournament, and if there is no domestic league held, the domestic cup champions are invited to play in the tournament.
The 2016 CFU Club Championship will be the 18th edition of CFU Club Championship, the annual international club football competition in the Caribbean region, which is held among clubs whose football associations are affiliated with the Caribbean Football Union (CFU).
The top three teams in the tournament will qualify to participate in the 2016-17 CONCACAF Champions League.