– GOA president unbothered by his ineligibility to seek another term

PRESIDENT of the Guyana Olympic Association (GOA), Kalam Juman-Yassin, is prepared to ride off into the sunset a proud man, after serving 26 years at the helm of one of the most important sports institutions in Guyana.

Yassin, who was bidding for another term in office, had his hopes shattered when the GOA hosted a Special General Meeting for the ratification of its new constitution.

Apart from the implementation of a maximum of three consecutive four-year terms for the president of the GOA, the association’s new constitution, based on a recommendation from the International Olympic Committee (IOC), has a clause that disallows anyone seeking to serve on the GOA’s Executive Committee from doing so if he/she is older than 70 years.

The GOA’s general council, on June 16, after much deliberation, voted 29 – 13 to include the 70-year age limit for Executive Committee members; something Yassin has since accepted, but not without making his grievance known.

In an exclusive sit-down with NCN Sports in the wake of the GOA’s General Council decision which will see his 26-year reign coming to an end, the former Chief Magistrate said, “While I still have some doubts about the authenticity of the members that voted, is that they had been political interference, aided and abetted [sic]. This is what I’ve been told by persons who have been approached.”

Yassin accused Director of Sport, Steve Ninvalle of “aiding and abetting,” stating that he was “wearing a different hat and not as president of the Guyana Boxing Association.”

“There have been telephone calls, there were meetings and they were called to the office and urged to support the change. That is my great disappointment. But at the end of the day, the meeting voted for the change and I accepted it and we move on from there,” Yassin said.

However, despite his serious claims and concerns, Yassin said he is bound by the General Council’s decision, adding “I accept it, I don’t have a problem. I will still sleep very sound at night.”

Yassin, 75, is Guyana’s longest-serving sports administrator, having been elected as GOA president in 1996.
But in recent times, he has been out of favour with his Executive Committee, which led to an article being published in Chronicle Sport recently about the fallout on several issues related to the important sports institution, one of which was Yassin’s disapproval of the IOC-recommended age limit requirement.