GFF should cite the infractions identified in the audit document

Dear Editor, Reference is made to your article titled `Forde calls on stakeholders to put football first” (SN, September 24). In it the Guyana Football Federation (GFF) president is alleging on the one hand that FIFA has stopped funding the GFF because of “many red flags and anomalies” identified by an audit recently done and on the other hand the GFF is still receiving ‘conditional funding” from FIFA.

This confounding revelation leaves more questions than answers. If the funding was in fact blocked, where did the GFF receive monies from for the countless initiatives, as outlined in depth in the article, since assuming office almost two years ago, including paying staff and the upcoming international friendly against Grenada and the frequent international travel by the president and executives? What constitutes ‘conditional funding’? From my understanding, all FIFA funding programmes are ‘conditional’ based on concrete proposals submitted by the respective Member Association. There is no blank cheque written for such funding.

Moreover, no attempt was made by the Stabroek News reporter to seek, and publish, specific evidence of the socalled many red flags and anomalies. Since it is alleged that many occurred, it would be helpful to the public for the GFF to quote the many specific infractions as identified in the audit document and state specifically what the GFF is doing to ensure those anomalies identified do not occur in the future.

The call by Forde for stakeholders to put football first should ideally start with him looking in the mirror. Yours faithfully, Clinton Urling