Former president of the Guyana Basketball Federation, Nigel Hinds, has thrown his support behind Kashif Muhammed to be appointed to the role of Director of Sport.
The post has been vacant ever since previous Director of Sport, Christopher Jones, was sent packing by the new administration, days after it assumed office on August 2, 2020.
Muhammed, a co-director of the now defunct Kashif and Shanghai year-end football tournament, has been accompanying Sport Minister Charles Ramson Jr. on many public engagements, drawing assumptions that he could be a contender for Director of Sport.
However, an appointment is yet to be made.
Hinds, in a letter to the media, said “the urgency of having a competent and dedicated National Director of Youth and Sports cannot be understated.”
Hinds, a former national senior basketball and hockey player, said that Muhammed has displayed a passion for sport and organising events, and his track record is “unequalled in Guyana.”
“Cricket, basketball, hockey, volleyball, badminton, table tennis and of course football; make your pick, once you attended feature games for these sports disciplines and you are likely to see Kashif in attendance. Persons with the passion for multiple sports and proven organisational and marketing skills should not be sidelined when available and when there is an extreme need for someone to lead the National Sports Commission out of its dysfunctional state,” Hinds noted.
“It is easy to go on about the many accomplishments of Kashif; however, what stuck with me over the decades is that the events he managed were well organised, executed and attended. The involvement of support staff, the marketing of the event, attention to detail and the consistent and expanding success of the events. Appointing a rare gem of a sports administrator such as Kashif Muhammad to direct our Sports Commission architecture is obviously the right thing to do.”
Hinds, who served briefly as a Commissioner on the National Sports Commission in 2016, reflected on an event in the early 1990s, when as a national player, he attended the final of a tournament promoted by the Kashif and Shanghai organisation.
“Before the finals commenced, I heard my name being called by the announcer, apparently the announcer was asked to acknowledge the presence of other National Athletes attending the event. This little gesture speaks volumes about the Kashif and Shanghai group and the high esteem and respect they shower on athletes. Leaders who care and recognize the financial challenges and other resource challenges faced by most of the young to be active and successful in sports,” Hinds opined.
Hinds, who represented Guyana in Field Hockey from 1983 to 1991 and Basketball from 1985 to 1994, said youth, especially the underprivileged and school dropouts, can find a pathway to success through sport, and the opportunities must be provided for them to become responsible, disciplined, confident and productive citizens.
“Kashif is the man for the job, the leader for the task of upgrading our sports infrastructure,” Hinds reiterated.
“Ideally, we should have a bias to put persons with a sports background to lead our youth and sports development. From the streets, from the schools, from our rural areas; we have to mobilise a rebirth of a well-funded and organised sports programmes – that coordinates school programmes, clubs and the activities and plans of the various sporting Associations and Federations, along with job opportunities.”
Hinds added, “Let us use the best we have! Let us appoint Kashif Muhammad as our Director of Youth and Sports. Region 10 is the undisputed resource centre for successful youth athletes and Kashif’s front row seat to see the sacrifice, dedication and needs of our youths will keep motivating him to do great things for the development of youths and sports in Guyana.”
