… Headmistress Ms Carmel Williams is female candidate

LED by Attorney-at-Law Nigel Hughes as the presidential candidate, Team Unity has announced its slate that will be contesting the upcoming Guyana Football Federation (GFF) Elections on November 14.Hughes was a former goalkeeper with the-then Georgetown Football League (GFL) and played under coach Mervin ‘Pug’ Wilson in 1978/79. He will have as his first vice president Odinga Lumumba, president of Guyana’s leading club side, Alpha United.
The remainder of the slate is as follows: Attorney-at-Law Mr. Mark Waldron (second vice president); Mr Aubrey Major (third vice president) a former GFF executive and co-director of the Kashif and Shanghai Organisation.
Ordinary members: Mr Troy Cadogan, Marketing Director, Ansa McAl; Mr Javid Ali, owner Slingerz Football Club and businessman; Mr Robbie Rambarran, administrative executive and experienced football administrator; Ms Carmel Williams, Headmistress, current Bartica FA executive; and former player Mr Faizal Khan, Georgetown Football Club team manager.
Hughes, who, along with his team on Saturday, officially launched Team Unity in Albouystown, has assured that his team will be working with all stakeholders to ensure the sport really takes off in Guyana.
He promised that all major business entities in Guyana, along with others, would be visited, where they (Team Unity) would present their vision and plans for the sport which he said is a viable choice for any business to invest.
Hughes argued that football will be made a profitable venture with everyone, from the smallest, poorest community all the way across the top, benefiting.
“It requires a plan and therefore when we approach each and every player in the corporate world, we’re saying to you, you don’t have to be involved only at the big national level, you can start being involved at the level of the school, at the level of the community, because we are going to put structures in place in which you can actually see what happens to your money.”
Hughes promised that his team will bring the accountability that is necessary for business to be assured that their monies have been used up for the intended purpose.
“And I guarantee you, once football really develops at all levels in the society you will see a reduction in crime because no longer will young men be looking for something else to do with their time. They will find a future in football that they will transcend not only what happens in Guyana or what happens in the region but they will become national players where just like in athletics in Jamaica, scouts will be flying here to look for talent to play globally in teams throughout the country.”
Attorney-at-Law Hughes also disclosed that he personally sponsored the Waramadong team in the last Digicel Nationwide Schools Football Championship. He took the opportunity to thank Digicel for their commitment to youth development.
“One of the reasons why I sponsored that Waramadong team is because when I saw the pure raw talent that they have and the real discipline that they displayed it was necessary to be able to take that to the next level and the only way to take that to the next level is if you put your money where your mouth is and you have to commit to support teams.”
“I want to encourage other people whom God has blessed with fortunate circumstances to come on board and help sponsor a team. We can’t talk about a better Guyana unless we talk and are committed to doing things to create a better Guyana.”
Touching on the lack of recognition and involvement of the women folk in our society, Hughes noted that they (women) must be involved as an equal partner and be as successful as the males have been over the past thirty to forty years.
“You cannot possibly develop nationally, if you are only developing half of your society. I am committed as president, if and when elected, to ensure not only the development of female football in Guyana but to ensure that female football in Guyana becomes the number one location for female football in the region.
It takes time, it will take effort, it will take commitment and you know that it will take money; but I am confident that once people understand the benefits that can be gained from football, the money that they can benefit from football, they will invest in this.”