Extra financial support for GFF’s Member Associations- Forde

The Guyana Football Federation (GFF) is drawing up plans to provide extra financial support to its nine member associations to help with running costs and salaries so that football can have a stronger foundation for growth around the country, GFF President Wayne Forde has announced.  

The GFF wants to give its member associations as much financial and logistical support as possible to develop football in their respective regions, as it rolls out a wide range of programmes, and youth and other competitions.   

The CONCACAF President Victor Montagliani will on Tuesday launch the GFF-Pele Alumni Frank Watson Memorial Intra-Association U-15 Tournament – Guyana’s first nationwide Under-15 youth football tournament, which will create another tier for youth development alongside the NAMILCO Thunderbolt Flour Power National U-17 League.  

“We have a lot of people that are involved with the administration of football that are doing it voluntarily,” GFF President Forde said in an in-house interview. “We have to make changes to our statutes that would allow the (member association) president and secretary, and some of the people that serve football, to be compensated.”  

The GFF has so far employed nine regional Technical Development Officers and 14 Youth Development Coaches to support its member associations in the delivery of programmes such as the GFF-Scotiabank Academy Training Centres, as well as to oversee competitions.  

But key to the growth of the game is to properly fund the administration of the game at all levels, Forde said, alongside strict compliance and oversight measures to ensure that finances are used for their correct purpose in an efficient way.  

“We are going to make a bold attempt with the increase in the FIFA funding where we are going to support our members by providing finances for their rental of their offices, telephone, utilities, and general office staff,” he said.