Edwyn Wood’s job as general secretary of the Barbados Football Association (BFA) appears to be safe. This despite calls from several clubs that he was not functioning effectively and should be fired.
Last night during the Penalty Spot radio show on VOB 92.9FM, BFA president Randy Harris, now in his third term of office, expressed confidence in his general secretary. That position is a selected one and not subject to election by member clubs. It is a paid position which is nominated by the president and ratified by the board if they so desire.
Leading up to the BFA’s annual general meeting and elections there were a number of calls for the general secretary’s resignation. Several member clubs were unhappy with the manner Wood conducted the affairs of the association. The general secretary’s performance was especially called into question regarding the planning of the annual general meeting and the nomination process for elections. The result was that a nomination committee had to be put in place to do what the general secretary would normally do.
However, last night Harris endorsed Wood and said he had no knowledge of anything that was done by the general secretary to undermine the nomination process. Harris, who was one of the guests on the call-in programme, explained that the BFA had dealt with all misunderstandings surrounding the election and had moved forward.
“We are in a different zone altogether. Some people made some allegations and we sought that out. People see it from their angle which when we held the meeting (prior to election) and they put their particular situation on the table, we understood where each other was coming from.
“The general body made a decision, a sensible decision because we don’t want to go into any situation with the BFA where the integrity of the football association is brought into disrepute. The thing is I have heard people lambaste the general secretary and said that the FA (football association) was trying to undermine the process by saying only twenty-three teams have the ability to vote at the meeting and that was not so,” Harris said.
He added: “The secretary circulated a letter to all clubs and the letter stated that the twenty-three clubs that were referenced in the letter were the twenty-three clubs that were registered up to that time. We cleared up everything and we went forward. I really commend the members of the BFA because they made this thing look so easy and at the actual meeting everything went according to plan.”
Former national captain and Barbados Football Association (BFA) council member Terry Sealy was one of those prior to the September 6 election, who was very vocal about his dissatisfaction with the manner in which Wood handled the nomination process for elections. Sealy at the time called for him “to do the right thing” and resign.
“The evidence is here to show that there is a big miscommunication within the football association. The president showed by stepping in and sending out this letter that he no longer has the confidence in the general secretary. Because this is really the function of the general secretary and for the president to get involved and sign off on this tells you something.
“I am clearly asking for the president to ask the general secretary to do the decent thing or to fire him. This has been going on for a long time where the Football Association have been making some serious administrative mistakes and they cannot continue along this line,” Sealy said at that time.
New junior vice-president Omari Eastmond prior to the elections and during his campaign called for transparency and accountability within the local football association. As one of the persons who was unhappy with the treatment meted out to him initially before calls were made to restart the nomination process, Eastmond called for heads to roll.
In fact, the former national goalkeeper indicated that besides the entire nomination fiasco, there was something much bigger at play where the BFA was concerned. He explained that was one of the primary reasons he decided to run for office.
He told Barbados TODAY during an exclusive interview leading up to the election: “If I as a former national player sit back and watch my country not only being disqualified but fined, then being cast from group B into group C of the Nations League (CONCACAF), I found that disappointing. There were no apologies made and it appeared to me as nothing major occurred.
“If we are getting players that want to change their nationalities, we need to do due diligence. Read the FIFA article, the information is there. Why is it we are not doing the research that is needed? Why is it we could continue to be fined, disqualified, lose points and it is ok, no heads roll? These are questions I want to ask, that needs to be asked. Persons need to be accountable.”
morissalindsay@barbadostoday.bb
