GFF opens mid-season transfer window

The Guyana Football Federation (GFF) on January 1 opened its mid-season transfer window that will close on January 31 to enable the transfer of players from one club to another. 

During this transfer period clubs are encouraged to process the transfers needed in a timely manner to avoid the last-minute transactions, which have become a norm. 

Competitions Director of the GFF, Ian Alves, said this is a great opportunity for clubs to bolster their capacity and increase their chances of success.

“With a lot of football tournaments being contested within the Member Associations countrywide in the first half of the season, clubs and teams have had a good chance to take note of their deficiencies on the pitch, if any, or to see what possible projected adjustments might be needed in order to improve the team’s performance going forward,” Alves said.

He continued, “The mid-season Transfer Window provides those clubs and teams with an excellent opportunity to fix whatever needs fixing in terms of their composition and harmony on the field of play.  It is therefore anticipated that maximum use would be made of this opportunity accordingly.”

Meanwhile, the GFF, by way of a press release on Wednesday afternoon, outlined what is required to facilitate a legitimate transfer. Those items are listed below.

A Domestic Transfer, in order to be considered procedurally correct, must involve the Former Club, the Player, the Former Regional Member Association (RMA), the New Club, and the New RMA (in the case of a transfer out of the Former Association).

Unless and until all of these entities are informed and involved, and provided that none of these raise any legitimate concerns with the attempted transfer, and as a result refuse to concur or approve the transfer, the transfer is incomplete. 

The New Club has the recourse of seeking the intervention of the relevant RMA, or subsequently the GFF, if it is of the view that the transfer is being unjustly hindered by the Former Club or the relevant RMA. 

The process for the Domestic Transfer is as follows:

1. The new club confirms the player has an interest in the transfer and, if so, the new club makes contact with the former club to negotiate the transfer agreement

2. If it’s agreed upon, the new club collects the transfer document from the relevant RMA

3. Each entity involved fills and signs their part namely on the form; player, former club, new club

4. The form is then submitted to the relevant RMA which confirms the authenticity of the involvement of each party

5. Everything being in order, the RMA approves the transfer and gives a copy to the new club

6. If the player is being transferred across RMA, the new club takes their copy of the form to their new RMA so that the player can be registered within that RMA and cleared for participation as a player of that club

It is important to note that the GFF is the RMA for Elite Clubs.