GFF activates ‘contingency plan’ for Super 16 Year-End tournament
Kashif Muhammad and fellow K&S Organisation Director Aubrey ‘Shanghai’ Major join GFF president Wayne Forde to announce the GFF/K&S ‘Super 16’ Year-End tournament. (Rawle Toney photo)
Kashif Muhammad and fellow K&S Organisation Director Aubrey ‘Shanghai’ Major join GFF president Wayne Forde to announce the GFF/K&S ‘Super 16’ Year-End tournament. (Rawle Toney photo)

… Forde doubles down on unauthorised tournaments

THE GFF/Kashif and Shanghai Super 16 tournament will now feature the Elite League clubs and other All-Star teams representing the respective Member Associations, instead of the all-club competition that was previously announced.

This was confirmed by president of the Guyana Football Federation (GFF), Wayne Forde, during an exclusive sit-down with Chronicle Sport and NCN.

Set to kick-off on Sunday, December 12, at the Georgetown Football Club (GFC) Ground, the initial plans would see five clubs from Georgetown, two from the East Coast and Linden, along with one each from Bartica, Essequibo, ‘West Side’, East Bank, Berbice, an Indigenous and Rupununi All-Star teams, all vying for the title.

However, now, following the GFF’s implementation of their contingency plans, the Elite League Clubs; Ann’s Grove, Buxton United, Den Amstel, Fruta Conquerors, Guyana Defence Force, Milerock, Guyana Police Force FC, Santos, Victoria Kings and Western Tigers will face competition from All-Star teams from the Federation’s Member Associations.

The GFF president had announced that only fully vaccinated players, fans and officials will be participating in the tournament.
With this in mind, the federation had embarked on a vaccination drive across their member associations, which Forde revealed, received mixed reaction and which he described as “extremely slothful.”

“That created a bit of doubt, whether we can really authorise the Regional Associations to conduct a playoff, without having sound evidence that the clubs and the officials that will be conducting or participating in that playoff have been vaccinated,” Forde reasoned.

Forde said the GFF “cannot attempt to organise a tournament, without satisfying the basic conditions that have been laid out to the entire society by the public health authority. And we know that there’s a vaccination requirement for almost every social activity that is taking place.”

Additionally, Forde said, another factor that impacted the GFF’s decision to make alternative plans to see the successful return of competitive football is that “many of the clubs were inactive for the better part of two years and the organisation at the local club level but more importantly, the vaccination requirement that they would have to make.”

With less than a month before kick-off, Forde insisted that the decision also stems from the GFF and the Kashif and Shanghai Organisation having to “start advertising the tournament, advertising critical details about how the tournament will be played, because we have to promote the event.”
“While I can understand all of the clubs wanting to play football, it is important that they understand that we can only approve this, once the conditions that have been placed before us, would have been met,” Forde said.

With the finals set for January 1, 2022 (Leonora), matches will also be played on December 17 (Buxton), December 19 (Leonora), December 22 (Linden), December 25 (Buxton), December 26 (Linden) and December 29 (GFC).

Understanding that under the current structure, some players might not make their Association All-Star team, Forde assured that 2022 promises to be a vibrant year for local football.

He guaranteed that “we’ve already allocated the funds and funding that would allow all nine of the Regional Associations, to organise all of their leagues, male and female.”

NO OTHER TOURNAMENT
With football finally returning to some degree of normalcy for the first time in almost two years, the GFF president has warned that only the GFF/Kashif and Shanghai tournament will be played.

“No member has presented that they are prepared and ready to do this (host year-end tournaments) and it has to be managed. Of course, we know our members that have been traditionally organising these events (year-end tournaments) and we’ve always been open to this; the evidence is clear…but at the moment, we have to satisfy the authorities, that we are able to manage the sport back to the pitch in the safest possible manner,” Forde firmly stated.

The GFF president said while there’s no way to ‘police’ the game, the Federation is guided by what he calls “a clear and well-defined constitution.”
“I will say that no official, registered member of the GFF, is authorised to participate in any football competition that has not been sanctioned by the GFF. The laws are very clear on that, and it’s the same in every 211 FIFA Members,” Forde said.

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