WHILE the Guyana Football Federation (GFF) remains tight-lipped on the advancement of the FIFA Goal Project, now known as the FIFA Forward Programme, Clinton Urling, whose Normalisation Committee laid the platform for Guyana to finally have its own home for football, is ‘surprised’ and ‘disappointed’ that after two years, all the Wayne Forde-led administration could have done was the turning of the sod.

It was regarded as one of the best things to ever happen to football in Guyana when Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) president Gianni Infantino visited Guyana on April 22.
The details behind his visit are still to be known, since the man who took over at the helm of FIFA from the embattled Sepp Blatter was on a Caribbean tour and during his few hours in Guyana, he took the time to turn the sod at the 30-year-leased Providence Community Centre ground.
“For me personally, that was the biggest achievement for the Normalisation Committee,” said Urling during an exclusive interview with Chronicle Sport yesterday.
Urling further reasoned that “this represented the acquisition of prime real estate located at a busy and accessible corridor for sports fans and it was supposed to be the vehicle for the GFF to become a self-sustaining organisation.”

In 1999, Guyana, Belize, The Bahamas, Nicaragua and St Lucia were listed as countries to benefit from FIFA’s new initiative, the ‘Goal Project’. FIFA president Sepp Blatter visited Guyana in 2001 for what was supposed to be the historic turning of the sod for this country’s first football stadium on land under the control of the University of Guyana.
However, Blatter stated that the building of stadiums was the responsibility of governments and subsequently revealed that FIFA would contribute some US$400 000 once the GFF is able to acquire the necessary land.

The GFF struggled for years to acquire a piece of land from the Government of Guyana until Moroccan Alami Binani made available to them a piece of land at Orangestein, East Bank Essequibo; a deal which was made under former president Colin Klass.
After Klass was suspended during 2011 in the famous ‘Cash for Votes’ scandal, the project was shelved with only a land clearing exercise ever conducted.
Under Klass’ successor, Franklin Wilson, the GFF acquired US$500 000 funding for the resuscitation of the project after initially being allocated US$400 000.
Christopher Matthias, elected to the GFF top post in 2013, discarded the Orangestein land due to the uncertainty surrounding its ownership and the distance from the capital city.
He (Matthias) then engaged the government in an attempt to acquire land behind the Leonora Track and Field Facility, but nothing came to fruition as the government allegedly offered less than four acres which was not approved by the world governing body.
“It was rather surprising to me that two years later, and a much-hyped visit from FIFA president Infantino, no progress has been undertaken on the property and the grass is higher than I’ve even seen it when we were there,” Urling pointed out.
“It’s not altogether surprising that the new executive committee would have had new plans to take football forward. What the NC had left was a solid platform for the current executives to build on.

“I have not examined the progress of the GFF since our departure. However, the development surrounding the Elite League and the Providence centre is disappointing and one can only be hopeful that we soon see the top teams reintegrated into the league and the Providence site developed as promised to the NDC,” said Urling.
Under Urling’s Normalisation Committee, the GFF underwent constitutional reform which paved the way for unhindered elections, but the Committee’s legacy would remain the STAG Elite League – a ‘then’ eight-team league which was conceptualised with guidance from FIFA and territorial body CONCACAF.
But, after a successful first season, the STAG Elite was thrown into chaos and controversy, with four clubs rebelling against a move by the GFF to expand the league from eight to ten teams – a move which the aggrieved clubs have labelled ‘unconstitutional’ and has since taken legal action in the High Court of Guyana against the GFF.

“While I have not heard of any plans for the commencement of the third season of the Elite League, I remain an optimist that this will happen soon,” Urling noted, adding “the only advice I can dispense is the one that guided the NC’s tenure and that was to engage, engage, and engage. Engage, consult and compromise with all stakeholders and in the final analysis do what is in the best interest of the football product in Guyana.”
Urling, the proprietor of German’s Restaurant, recently wrapped up his Masters Degree in Sports Management at Columbia University, but told Chronicle Sport, “I have no intention to run for any office of the GFF. However, I do remain committed to seeing the development of the sport of football in Guyana. If I’m asked to serve in any capacity, and once availability permits, I would acquiesce to do so.”