GFA should encourage more social league football
LET’S all applaud the GFA for the great work they are doing to get praise for building ladies’ football in Guernsey. Do they not realise that people in the know and who have been involved with ladies’ football for many years know there was already a very successful ladies’ league before they were convinced by the GFA how much better and wonderful life would be for them if they affiliated with the governing body? The ladies were then belittled by having games where at times no referee turned up and in the end they were humiliated by playing nine-a-side games.
The GFA are a law unto themselves. They do not only discriminate against the ladies but also the youth on this island. If any of the youngsters wish to develop their skills playing a higher standard of football with Ormer FC, they cannot play in or represent Guernsey in any Murattis. The GFA are bullies. They wanted to destroy ladies’ and social league football and that’s what they have done. Social league football (the Sunday Soccer League and the Saturday Football League) were at one time bigger than the GFA and they did not like it.
Money has a large bearing on that as well. What the GFA does not take into account (and does not care about anyway as long as they can dictate) is the fact that when they destroyed those vibrant leagues, they also destroyed and belittled many great people’s names that were on trophies donated by families in honour of their loved ones who worked hard to make sure the game was there for them at the level they enjoyed playing it. Trophies named in honour of people like (the late) Gary King, Chris Gallienne, Mark Allen and Antonio Folmi, to mention a few, are all names that have now disappeared into the mists of time and the honour of their memory and what they did for football at grass roots level destroyed by the dictatorship that is the GFA. They would not like it if some bigger bully than them came along and took away all the memories of the people they have trophies named after and played for in honour of those people in their organisation. They forget I have been in football all my life and we even lost a very good referee in Millie Sarre years ago when she qualified as an official. The lady did a great job on the pitch (we appointed her in a Sunday League game), but Millie dropped out because she wanted to test herself and see how high she could go, but the GFA at the time did not want lady officials.
So you see – like it or not.- the history of the GFA has always been that they discriminated against woman in football on the island. Now they want a pat on the back for being interested and bringing through girls in football. It’s all too late because the damage done is long in the memory of the ladies wanting to represent the island in a Muratti now. They know the damage inflicted on them by the GFA the same as I and many others in social league football know the damage inflicted on their individual leagues. Let’s be honest. The GFA do not like any opposition against their dictatorship and if any other league or team is set up they will do their utmost to destroy it. Local football has been destroyed by an organisation that wants to dictate. No team or league not affiliated to the GFA is allowed on this island or the GFA will – as they have done – do anything to destroy it. Freedom of choice has gone completely on this island. Saturdays and Sundays for the real grass roots players who could never make it in any higher league or standard have been left to rot and all because of the attitude: ‘you will do as we say’.
ROD HAMON
5 Rosemount,
Mont Arrive,
St Peter Port,
GY1 2AF.
Editor’s footnote: the GFA has declined to comment.