By Joe Chapman

RECENTLY elected president of the Upper Demerara Football Association (UDFA), Terrence Mitchell, has taken umbrage to a report by former UDFA official Jermaine Figuiera on his assumption to the top post, as if it was unconstitutional and not aboveboard.
Speaking exclusively to Chronicle Sport, Mitchell said the May 13 elections of the UDFA was one which was overseen by the governing Guyana Football Federation (GFF).
“So the question about how I emerge to be president: Look it was constitutional. The GFF got involved. The General Council of (UDFA) made that decision and decided they want this thing fixed. They called on me to serve as the president,” Mitchell said.

A Civil Engineer by profession, Mitchell highlighted, “We (UDFA) had a situation where the previous executive became unstable, so to speak, in the sense that persons who were disgruntled over a couple of things happening, started falling off the ship.”
Mitchell, who had resigned as secretary in February of this year, noted that it was his passion for the game and the fact that he wanted to “see football move forward; and I know I have what it takes to take football to the next level” which fuelled his return to the game.
“I have ideas and surround myself with a team what have that passion to make it happen. GFF came on board and conducted that meeting, whether it was supposed to be three months later or whether it happens now,” Mitchell pointed out.

The former president of the Amelia’s Ward United FC on the question by Figuiera in another section of the media, where the Member of Parliament asked about the timing of the UDFA election, which was expected in another three months, stated, “The fact remains that we want to see the continued development of football. We cannot wait for it to be a long period, if you have the opportunity to fix it now, so that the thing could continue going forward.”
He continued, “So this notion about the haste in fixing the football, that is a setback for me. I can’t see how you could think that we should stay destabilised for a period when we have the opportunity, not to do so that we can continue going forward. Nevertheless, our mentality was to fix it right now and move forward. We brought forward that elections early; there was a need for it.”
The UDFA boss was adamant stating “Anybody doing anything other than progress for football, I don’t want to hear from them. If you are not talking progress, don’t come talking retrogression to me. We are going forward, we are not looking back.”