GFA president says soccer could return with ‘Mega League’ by August
GFA president Otis James is optimistic that the newly proposed ‘Mega League’ 2020/21 season could kick off in August
GFA president Otis James is optimistic that the newly proposed ‘Mega League’ 2020/21 season could kick off in August

– Virtual meeting with GFF set for this week

By Clifton Ross 

GEORGETOWN Football Association (GFA) president, Otis James, is looking at a blockbuster restart following COVID-19, by kicking off the 2020/21 season dubbed the ‘Mega League’ by August; once the green light is given from the Guyana Football Federation (GFF).

James told Chronicle Sport during an exclusive interview on Monday that major plans are in the pipeline, as the GFA is eager to kick-start their season after months away from action. The pandemic curtailed a number of plans within the soccer community, as a number of tournaments across all levels had to be put on an indefinite pause due to the lockdown state locally.

The first step according to the GFA boss, however, is a virtual summit set for this week with their parent body, the GFF. James noted that the meeting will touch on a number of topics, mostly regarding a way forward in a safe and productive manner for the footballers and fans alike.

“First of all, our head body is the GFF, so we are waiting on their green light. We will be having a virtual meeting with them this week because everyone needs to be on the page. We want to restart the season by planning our ‘Mega League which should start in August and continue throughout into 2021”. He said.

He said the ‘Mega League’ is a way for the GFA to better market their season with regard to taking on its own identity; quite similar to how in cricket the local domestic season is highlighted by the inter-county known these days as the ‘Jaguars Franchise League’.

“We also want to open the season with an Under-13 tournament as well as an U-15 which can be played on the weekends because schools will be closed”, said  James who believed that the time-off due to school being closed for the summer is ideal for hosting junior tournaments alongside the possible launching of the new season.

The former international FIFA referee further stressed that because of the pandemic, a number of off-field plans were also truncated, thus resulting in the executive committee recently agreeing upon hosting the Mega league which, he said, will be stretched automatically and will run into the following year, annually.

With no live sports to go around, the fans globally and locally have been wrongfully, yet uncontrollably, deprived of entertainment and James has been communicating with his players and feedback from them as well as fans is that of utter yearning; adding that the time off is both good and bad for the players.

“We have a WhatsApp group where we communicate every day and the guys really want to get back out there and play. The good part about the lockdown is that our players and fans will be extra eager to see football, but the bad part I think is fitness; so I continue to urge them to see what they can do in order to maintain a minimum level of fitness, so when they get back out they will be back to maximum playing levels”, expounded the GFA president.

In closing, James was adamant that following the upcoming virtual conference with the GFF head body, more clarity will be given on plans to re-open the floodgates of football and whether or not to potentially keep August as a possible restart date for the 2020/21 GFA season.

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