De-affiliation from GFA would help clubs survive
WHAT the League Management Committee (LMC) of Guernsey football have been talking about doing in respect of breaking away from the Guernsey Football Association is something I have mentioned a number of times. Bels, Rangers, Rec, North, Sylvans, Rovers and Saints have only been doing what the social leagues did for years before de-affiliating from the governing body. They are actually paying to run things themselves.
At the end of the day the GFA have had only one team since the invention of GFC. Now they are looking at broadening their interest by having a second team to be interested in. Let's face it, a newly-formed rebel league which could include the seven GFA teams that play in a league set up run by the LMC and the 12 teams left in the IAG Saturday Football League could form a three-division promotion and relegation set up. The seven teams/clubs affiliated to the GFA at the moment have their own grounds and clubhouses and by un-affiliating from the GFA they would be free to let the teams that are at present unaffiliated and playing in the Saturday Football League to play on their grounds. At the moment GFA-affiliated teams/clubs cannot let any Saturday Football League team/club play on their own grounds while they are affiliated to the GFA, but de-affiliation would give them the revenue they need to stay in existence.
The management committee have the people involved who obviously know what they are doing to organise a league, as they have been doing it anyway. I personally feel (as I have said many times before) this is the only way to go if these long-time teams/clubs are to be around for much longer. De-affiliation will give them the money they need by being able to hire their pitches out if they want to – and they will stand a chance to fill their clubhouse.
Go for it and never mind the dictatorship – that's what I say. After all – a player can have a storming season but if they are not a part of either of the suggested two GFA-formed teams they have no chance of representing the island in the annual Guernsey vs Jersey match each season. Well that's if we can actually qualify to be in that match after the efforts this season when the so-called island team was looking at how many they were going to win by, and not entering the game in a frame of mind that respected the opposition.
ROD HAMON,
5, Rosemount,
Mont Arrive,
St Peter Port,
GY1 2AF.
