… GFF/FIFA-facilitated two-day training concludes

THE Guyana Football Federation (GFF) has become the first Member Association of the CONCACAF Region to adopt the Domestic Transfer Matching System (DTMS), according to FIFA’s DTMS Project Coordinator Semira Jawdat.

This announcement was made last Friday at Olympic House during her opening remarks at a two-day training workshop, which sought to build capacity among GFF Secretariat staff, Member Associations and Clubs on the use of the DTMS.

Jawdat said it was a memorable day for the GFF, stating that it was “not only training in using the system, or on exercising it, or giving compliance advice. The day is also a new chapter for the GFF, its affiliated clubs and regional associations. It is a great moment because it’s the first member of CONCACAF to adopt DTMS”.

According to FIFA, the DTMS is “the national version of the International Transfer Matching System (ITMS). With DTMS, the federation and its clubs have the ability to manage and monitor their domestic transfer activity, generate statistics and reports, speed up the transfer process and store required documents online, safely. As an extension of the ITMS, the system allows the federation to access international and domestic transfers in one place.”

While encouraging maximum participation Jawdat, who works in FIFA’s Global Transfers and Compliance Department, said the DTMS is meant to be responsive to unique needs of member associations.

“We’ll see how to improve the system according to your needs because the system is not static. It will try to accommodate your needs,” Jawdat said.

Meanwhile GFF’s president Wayne Forde said part of his Executive Committee’s mandate is to professionalise the sport. He expressed his satisfaction that capacity for player transfers is being done.

“We know that movement of players has been a very contentious issue in Guyana’s football for many years. We now have an opportunity to have a platform where we can do this in a very structured and transparent manner that will certainly serve the interest of our efforts to professionalise football in Guyana,” Forde noted.

FIFA’s Training and Support Coordinator, Maria Stracke, while indicating her pleasure to share her knowledge about the DTMS, in her remarks, reiterated that the transfer process is about transparency and equity, and said “all transfers are being handled in the same way and it’s about fairness”.

Also included in the team is Hector Navarro, Legal Counsel and TMS Compliance officer. The first day of the workshop involved key representatives, who will interface with representatives from clubs.