Ollivierre takes up First VP position in national football set-up

Kenton Ollivierre, the newly elected first vice president of the St Vincent and the Grenadines Football Federation (SVGFF), has an opportunity to implement his 10- point plan on the sport here.{{more}}

His plan was the plank on which he focused his campaign, leading up to last Saturday’s election, in which he outscored his opponent Osborne Bowens in a two-way race for the post.

When the ballots were counted, Ollivierre tallied 28 to Bowens’ 17.

Initially, the names of Clemroy “Bert” Francois and Wayne Grant were among the persons who were nominated for the position; however, Francois opted out prior to last Saturday’s meeting and Grant, immediately before the election was called.

Ollivierre, an active player in national football competitions for Campdonia-Chelsea takes up the responsibility for technical matters on the national football executive.

He proposes to ensure equal opportunity for all players for national selection; improve the rankings of St Vincent and the Grenadines on the world listing, as well as improve the promotion of female football. Ollivierre also proposes to take a more focused look at youth development and opportunities and enhance coaches’ and officials’ knowledge, through regular training programmes.

A businessman by profession, Ollivierre will also seek sponsorship for all premier division units, whilst attacking debt reduction and financial management of the St Vincent and the Grenadines Football Federation and improve partnership with the local corporate sector.

He also wants to see an improvement in the administration and legislative requirements of football units and enhance communication and information/planning between the executive of the SVGFF and its affiliates.

Ollivierre, now given that opportunity on his election, promised to keep in touch at all times with the affiliates.

In turn, affiliates will not only hold Ollivierre to his 10-point plan, but will see that he follows through on his promise to donate 50 per cent of his monthly stipend to six needy children.

Like Bowens, when giving a five-minute presentation before the election, Ollivierre declared:

“… Being the generous person who I am, if elected, I plan to donate 50 per cent of the stipend for the entire duration of my tenure to six needy children within the football fraternity … to assist with their schooling.”

The three vice presidents of the St Vincent and the Grenadines Football Federation are each entitled to a monthly stipend of $1,200.

The post of first vice president became vacant last November, following the resignation of Lloyd Small, who gave 21 reasons for his parting company with the executive.

Small, who was elected unopposed when the current executive under Venold Coombs was installed on September 23, 2011, pointed to several internal operations of the SVGFF which he deemed obstructive to the governance of the sport here.

Among Small’s concerns then were “the persistent disregard for the governance structure and mechanism, as outlined in the constitution of the SVGFF”; “the establishment of a savings (cash) account at the St Vincent Co-operative Bank Limited, without a resolution taken by the Executive Committee, and without prior knowledge and approval of the majority of its members”; “the arrogant and blatant disregard, for several months now, by a member of our Executive Committee, to provide the Auditors with the relevant documentations as part of their audit procedures, as defined by International Standards on Auditing, ISA 705”.

Others reasons for Small’s resignation included charges of nepotism, match fixing, the purchase of a laptop computer for an executive member and travel expenses funded for non-football reasons.(RT)