We are playing with fire

The prolonged electoral process of the St Vincent and the Grenadines Football Federation (SVGFF) continues to open up cracks within the system.

Most recently, there has been another flare up, as three entities have been deemed ineligible to vote in the March 21, 2024 event.

There seems something amiss about the revelations, but one that will be contentious by the timing of the disclosures.

This latest saga though extends the continuum of injuries that respective Football administrations and the fraternity as a whole, have had to contend with for the past three decades and counting.

But the frequency of these fall outs, seem to increase whenever there is a fight for positions on the national executive of the SVGFF.

Everyone understands that the stakes are high, people’s ego will be tested as it pertains to the eventual outcomes of the elections, but let us not degenerate our integrity for the sake of executive positions.

We are not clothing ourselves in glory, with the constant back and forth, as they do not augur well for us as a people, generally.

Looking from the outside, it may appear that St Vincent and the Grenadines does not possess persons with the acumen, poise and capabilities to resolve internal affairs.

This as there are pending matters such as the issues of eligibility of players who participated in previous National Club Championships, under the aegis of the SVGFF.

Many of these concerns and anomalies have been unresolved, such that they caused the postponement of the Awards and Presentation Ceremony of the 2022/2023 National Club Championships.

The flaws are too many, too often, and too unnerving. As they prolong, we are poking our hands into the fire. And, as the saying goes, “If you play with fire, you will get burnt”.

As we saunter, seemingly indifferent about the many episodes that are derailing the development of our football, we remain equally oblivious to the consequences and possible repercussions.

We forget that there is always surveillance of us by the persons in charge of the various administrative arms of the parent body of the sport- FIFA.

There is no gainsaying that such personnel are aware of almost every unorthodox or upheaval that takes place in St Vincent and the Grenadines’ Football circles.

Hopefully, things here do not become so desperate or irreparable that would cause FIFA to swoop down on us.

Therefore, should we continue to be in the news for some of the wrong things, we may well fall victim of restricted funding from FIFA, as well as the sport’s parent body coming in to “ normalise” things for us.

That will be a sad day for St Vincent and the Grenadines’ Football, which is already struggling to get its rankings up; get more players out on professional contracts; and ensure that we have a firm pathway towards producing players who can at least compete at the Concacaf Nations League level.

We need not look far and learn from the experiences of Trinidad and Tobago and Guyana, as two examples of having to suffice with Normalisation Committees to administer their Football setup.

Time and only time will tell, if St Vincent and the Grenadines may feel the wrath of those who hold the power to bring the axe down on our Football.