Use of State-owned sports facility is a Government policy decision – Wayne Forde
FLASHBACK! GFF president Wayne Forde (right) presents a customised ‘Golden Jaguars’ replica jersey to Minister Ramson in the presence of Dion Inniss, at their first meeting in August of 2020.
FLASHBACK! GFF president Wayne Forde (right) presents a customised ‘Golden Jaguars’ replica jersey to Minister Ramson in the presence of Dion Inniss, at their first meeting in August of 2020.

PRESIDENT of Guyana Football Federation, Wayne Forde, believes the use of any state-owned sport facility is a policy decision for the Government of Guyana and not a particular sporting entity or Association. Since the finals of the Kashif and Shanghai ‘Bounce Back’ football tournament at Guyana National Stadium on January 1, there has been much debate about the playing of football at the facility which was built for the hosting of Cricket World Cup in 2007. The stadium, Guyana’s lone ICC-recognised cricket facility at present, has hosted its fair share of football matches, both locally and internationally, as well as other Regional and international sporting events over the past 14 years. However, reports surfaced recently depicting a damaged pitch, purported to be that of the National Stadium after the January 1 event. The claims were deemed false by the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sport, after a visit by Minister Charles Ramson Jr and team. GFF president Wayne Forde, speaking for the first time on the matter, stating that his Federation doesn’t have the authority over any state-owned sports facility and the policy with regard the use of those facilities, lies squarely with the Government.

“The use of government facilities is a policy decision of any government and we (GFF) as a sporting discipline in Guyana, we have to operate within the policy framework of the government,” Forde said. According to Forde, GFF’s responsibility is “to request the use of a venue and if the granting of approval is within the policy framework within the Government of Guyana and that approval is granted, then it is our right to use the venue in the most responsible way and most respectable way”. “If they are conditions that are attached to the approval, then it is our responsibility to honour those conditions as well,” Forde noted. Minister of Culture, Youth and Sport, Charles Ramson Jr, had this week told Chronicle Sport, that “the Guyana National Stadium is not owned by anyone; it’s owned by the people of the country. It’s not owned by any sport, it is owned by the various sports which require its usage in order for them to be able to advance their standing nationally and globally.”

Ramson believed that the issue was a “concerted attempt to malign the ministry and also to prevent the use of the national stadium for football,” adding that “GFF is required to also be prepared for their World Cup preparation and representation which is going to be in March of this year”.
Forde lauded Ramson’s position on the matter, pointing out that he’s “happy that the Honourable Minister has signalled the policy-posture of the Government of Guyana.”
Asked about his and the GFF’s relationship with the Government of Guyana, Forde lamented that the nature of the relationship between the government and any sporting body, usually has much to do with the quality of the relationship between the president and the minister, and he was “pleased to say that Minister Charles Ramson and I have a very good relationship.”
“He’s very accessible and I try to be as accessible as I can to him. So we have a really good relationship. Fundamental to the relationship is that we understand each other; we both have a huge responsibility,” the GFF boss related.

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