GFF President contradicts his general secretary
- says GFF not broke but has cash flow problems
By Lloyda Nicholas
Stabroek News
December 23, 2006
Members of the head table at yesterday's GFF press conference. From left Jamaal Shabazz, Colin Klass, George Rutherford and Frederick Granger(standing). (Lawrence Fanfair) photo.
President of the Guyana Football Federation (GFF) Colin Klass yesterday contradicted the words of his general secretary by declaring that the organization is not bankrupt.
At a press conference held yesterday at the Federation's office in Campbellville, Klass said that the GFF was not bankrupt, adding that he was seeking to clear up misconceptions in the public domain.
Klass said there was a public perception that the organization was bankrupt due to reports in a section of the press but this was not the case.
"What we have is a cash flow problem," he declared.
However, GFF General Secretary, George Rutherford, had in an exclusive interview with Stabroek Sport last week declared:"The GFF is broke."
Klass explained that at the moment the federation's income is less than their projected expenditure.
He pointed out that for Guyana to host and participate in the Digicel Caribbean Cup Group H leg, it cost somewhere in the vicinity of US$40,000.
The GFF grant from the Caribbean Football Union for hosting the leg is US$20,000 and their income from the gates was only approximately US$2,000, leaving them with an $18,000 shortfall, he explained. "No one predicted that the Guyana national team would create the waves they have," Klass said, referring to the team's winning streak which has taken them to the Digicel Caribbean Cup finals in Trinidad next year.
He noted that because of this, the expenditure associated with the team's unexpected performance was not included in the 2006 budget which was submitted to FIFA for approval before the annual US$250,000 grant was disbursed to the organization.
Klass said:"The FIFA grant is not elastic. Indeed we do miracles with it, but it is a specific grant for specific purposes that are approved by FIFA."
He said that all funds that were expended had to be spent for the purpose that was pre-approved by the international governing body.
"The GFF is the only association since 1999 that has submitted annual audited accounts to the Ministry of Culture and the National Sports Commission and other relevant bodies," Klass pointed out.
Klass made this comment in light of the fact that Minister responsible for Sport, Dr. Frank Anthony, had told Stabroek Sport that it would be good to have access to the audited reports of associations before they plug monies into their activities.
Audited reports are a prerequisite for the GFF to continue receiving funds from FIFA, Klass said.
"Our accountability is far above board. Everything has been accounted for," Klass said, adding that the GFF was now incurring costs associated with the rise of the national team for the first time in the country's history.
However, up to last October, the GFF was unable to provide a budget to Government of the projected cost were the team to qualify for the finals.
Klass said that the Federation had met with the minister in October and had requested any support the minister could provide for the Group H leg of the tournament and had told him about the possibility of incurring more costs if the team were to qualify.
But Klass said that they were unable to predict then what the cost of this participation would look like.
Klass did point out that the Federation had provided the Ministry with a plan for the year and a prediction of the shortfall in their finances at the beginning of 2006.
The GFF has now dispatched letters to the Government and the private sector requesting support with just a few weeks to go before the start of the Digicel Caribbean Cup Finals in Trinidad and Tobago on January 12.
Dr. Anthony had told Stabroek Sport that Government might not be able to provide substantial support at that late stage since they had not been approached up to that point.
He had said that Government had already expended their budget for 2006 and that no provision had been made for support in the 2007 budget since they had not been approached.
Klass said that the team deserved the support of the private sector, Government and all stakeholders.
"Once any entity intends to meet the highest mark we have to invest and the GFF can't do it alone," he said.
Klass added that members of the private sector could fund specific projects such as travel and accommodation which they could pay directly.
He said, "This is a great achievement for Guyana for the first time in history. This is a breakthrough for Guyana."
When quizzed on the lack of fund-raising activities to support Guyana's participation in the Digicel Caribbean Cup Finals, Klass said that those types of activities, such as fairs and bar-b-ques tended to create more debt for the organization.
He said that the GFF had been trying to concentrate on hosting friendly matches with international teams but many of the countries only wanted to play Guyana on their home turf. He added that corporate Guyana had been approached on a continual basis and only Federal Management Systems had stepped up so far. When asked why he believed that this was the case, Klass blamed the media saying that it was because of the negative press that the GFF had received. He added that people were more willing to support cricket, but they needed to recognize that football could take Guyana places that cricket could not.
Klass also said that the GFF could not do it alone and everyone needed to support the participation of the team in the Digicel Caribbean Cup finals.
He said if Guyana should qualify to the CONCACAF Gold Cup, this would introduce more costs which Guyana had not had to deal with before.
Guyana are now enjoying their highest FIFA ranking (100) and have a strong chance of qualifying to the CONCACAF Gold Cup which could put them on the road to a chance at qualifying for the 2010 Football World Cup.
In relation to the issue of President of the Georgetown Football League President Odinga Lumumba making overtures to lead a fund-raising effort for the national squad, Klass said, that they were willing to accept any form of support. He, however, said that the particular conditions outlined by Lumumba would have to be discussed at the General Council meeting to be held today. Klass also dealt with the issue of Technical Director for the National Football squad Jamaal Shabazz's tenure with the GFF stating that, "Funding or no funding, he will remain with us."
Shabazz, who was also at the press conference, said that his coming to Guyana had nothing to do with money.
Shabazz added that the team could do the job in Trinidad and Tobago at the finals and the only stumbling block he could see was the lack of funding.
"I am calling on everyone to pull in the same direction to make this thing a success", he said.