Let good sense prevail

There appears to be some unsavoury developments within the national administration of football here in St Vincent and the Grenadines (SVG).

Whilst the reports are sketchy and unconfirmed, there is a likelihood that there would be some fissures sustained in the already brittle bones of the national organization.

But the body language and the snippets of revelation from some members of the sitting executive of the St Vincent and the Grenadines Football Federation (SVGFF) hint at something awry. 

Also, the convening of two meetings with the general council, in the space of one week, must raise a red flag, that some things are not in order. 

In the interim, though, as all wait and see, stakeholders of the sport have to brace themselves for whatever the eventuality.

Good or bad, SVG’s football will be affected.

For too long, football has been so drawn into the murk of disrespect that it is almost a given to hear of negativity emanating from that sport. 

Therefore, it may be a time, irrespective of the latest rung of bad publicity, albeit to this point of publication, a case of conjecture.

But as we wait on clarity, some persons would be ready to rejoice at the demise of the casualty or casualties. 

Maybe, if it does happen, it would be case of poetic justice and payback for the many distasteful verbal handouts some persons have received. 

Unfortunately, SVG’s football image, over the last six years and two months, has been disfigured by the callous actions of someone who was allowed to swallow that belief of his invincibility.

But equally culpable are the males who stood in executive positions, and lacked that moral courage to stand up and be counted as men. They sold themselves and the sport of football short.

Similarly did those affiliates whose loyalty was obscured by promises, trinkets and a few pieces of football equipment.

Since taking office back in September 2011, financial issues have been the bugbear of this executive’s tenure. 

Among the many unchecked atrocities was the events of the latter part of 2014, when the unaccounted $96,000 made the national headlines.

This resulted in the “Take my head” statement from second vice-president Marvin Fraser.

No type of punitive action was taken by affiliates nor the executive then, against anyone, as the amount was thereafter accounted for.

Also, there have been clouds surrounding the sale of world cup tickets ahead of the 2014 Brazil finale.

The sale of these tickets has opened searching questions on the autonomous operations of the executive of the SVGFF.

Questioning of the tickets internally had hit sensitive nerves of the hierarchy of the SVGFF.

Glaring discrepancies also have appeared with the conditions and conduct of the sale of the said tickets, such that different quantities of tickets were said to have been procured by the SVGFF. 

Whilst there have been some deafeningly mute on the matter in recent times, former general secretary of the SVGFF Raymond Trimmingham has admitted that he was summoned to Mexico in 2016, to have an in-person interview with FIFA’s Ethics Committee.

The sale of these tickets also resulted in the auditing firm KDLT stating that as a consequence of internal control deficiencies, they were unable to satisfy themselves as to the sales of FIFA World Cup tickets.

As the football fraternity, and the country as a whole, wait, in the event that the worst befall the sport, good sense has to prevail, as any rash decisions either way can only spell bad, rather than good.

Keeping one’s poise whatever assumed revelations are made within the coming days, football should still be the winner.