Granville excluded, Reid cries foul

Western Bureau:

The 2011 St James Football Association's Captain's Bakery & Grill KO Competition is now on in earnest, but at least one of the notable affiliates, Granville FC, are hopping mad, claiming that they were wrongly excluded from the competition.

"We were only given two days' notice to show up for the draw with our entry form and $7,000 entry fee," said Granville's chief executive officer, Tracey Reid. "Because we are required to give our sponsor adequate notice whenever we are requesting funds, we asked the board to give us a few days to get the money."

Reid said when the payment situation was related to the board, she said she was given the assurance that she could pay at a later date, and was instructed to show up for the draw with the club's registration form.

"When my representative turned up for the draw, we were told that we had been excluded because we had not paid the $7,000 entry fee," said Reid. "We believe our exclusion was wrong, and we are very unhappy about it."

Claims rejected outrightly

However, when contacted, Gregory Daley, the St James FA (StJFA) league coordinator, flatly rejected Reid's claim, arguing that all the teams had been notified on at least three separate occasions, which was adequate notice as far as he was concerned.

"All the teams were notified at the same time," said Daley. "In fact, Granville would have known before most of the other teams as she, as a member of the board, has been privy to the details about the competition before teams without representatives on the board."

In weighing in on the situation, St James FA president, Texchus Nembhard, said it is simply a case of a team failing to meet its obligations, and as a consequence, forfeiting its chance to participate in the competition.

"Gone are the days when the rules would be twisted to suit teams who do not meet their obligation," said Nembhard. "We make sure that adequate notice is given, so the onus is on the team to play by the rules."

However, Reid is lamenting the fact that their exclusion will have a negative impact on the Granville community, which is being affected by a spiralling crime problem, which has earned it a hot spot designation by the St James police.

"We are trying to use football to unify the community, so this is a major blow to us," said Reid. "It would have been good if the FA was more responsive to our situation."

Ironically, Reid was a league director for the StJFA up until a few months ago. She, along with her former colleague, Lilli-Mae Crawford, were relieved of their duties as part of a restructuring exercise initiated by president Nembhard.