THE Guyana Football Federation (GFF) yesterday hosted its Ordinary Congress in the Savannah Suite of the Pegasus Hotel, where the Federation’s president Wayne Forde labelling the event a success.
Forde said the day was productive, with GFF’s highest decision-making body leaving the Pegasus Hotel “satisfied with the work of the GFF and that all its recommendations were adhered to and acted upon.”

“We’ve made some very important decisions and we’ve been able to share some of the plans to bring football into operation in 2021,” Forde said, pointing to the ‘bounceback’ initiative with UEFA.

“We’ve very optimistic about the improving situation across Guyana and we look forward to getting back to on-field activities within the context of our ‘bounceback’ programme that we’ve been preparing in partnership with UEFA and I would like to encourage our members, that until such time that the requisite approval is granted from the COVID-19 Task Force, we continue to be safe, and to operate within the guidelines that have been issued by the authorities,” the GFF president said.

Coming out of yesterday’s Congress, Forde said, “The GFF Constitution has been amended to allow for them to host their congress virtually, as is the case with FIFA.”
Forde also told the media at the post-Congress Press Conference, that GFF’s Members Financial Assistance Programme was also passed.

“That’s a new funding programme that we’ve launched and they have also approved the regulations which has a bit of compliance requirements for the Regional Associations, their affiliates and Elite League Clubs who will be entitled now to significant funding and equipment support, but the compliance part of it is very, very rigid,” the GFF head explained.

“We have already implemented it last year, where our members would have already received the first tranche of their payments and we have been awaiting the approval today before the other payments were made to the associations.”

Under GFF’s Members Financial Assistance Programme, member associations will be given $50 000 a month and will receive the annual payments in two parts, every six months. This will go towards operational cost.
The member associations will then receive competition funding for their U-17, U-20 and Female programmes.

According to Forde, GFF will “also allocate funding for senior leagues, which will be staged under a single umbrella, which will be named the National league in the future. That way, we can manage the quality control and we will have a greater input as to how those senior men’s leagues are organised.”
Meanwhile, GFF also gifted its member associations laptops in order to better help them to effectively function.