There will be no Elective Congress of the St. Vincent and the Grenadines Football Federation (SVGFF) this Saturday, November 27, 2024, as previously announced.
Instead, an Extra Ordinary Congress will be convened via Zoom on that date, beginning at 9:30am, to get approval of the SVGFF Electoral Code, the Electoral Committees, as well as the decision/position from parent bodies and the road map to Elective Congress.
The deferral of the Congress which should have seen the election of a new Executive to administer the affairs of the SVGFF for the next quadrennial, came on the advice of the sport’s world governing body- FIFA.
Kenney Jean Marie, FIFA’s Chief Member Associations Officer, in a letter dated January 23, 2024, and addressed to General Secretary of the SVGFF- Devron Poyer, outlined the reasons for the postponement.
The FIFA official noted that following the January 10, 2024 adoption of the new statutes, “good order” practices should take place.
“According to article 30 paragraph 7 of the new SVGFF Statutes, candidatures for any of the position of the Executive Council must be sent to the SVGFF General Secretary at least 30 days before the relevant elections. Furthermore, the official list of candidates must be provided to the members of SVGFF at least 10 days before the relevant elective congress,” Jean Marie affirmed.
The previous roadmap for the elections as announced by the Secretariat of the SVGFF, showed that announcement of the list of candidates was set for January 24, Congress was set for January 19, 2024.
On that same date, there was to have been the Formal Convocation and agenda of the Congress. These, though, never materialized. Of note too, was the Integrity Checks of candidates, which have been carried out three days prior to the Convocation.
In light of the missed dates and developments, Jean Marie indicated: “The Electoral Committee shall pass decisions on the eligibility of all candidates in line with the requirements and timeline provided for in the SVGFF Statutes and Electoral Code”.
Jean Marie thus underscored that sufficient time must also be given for appeals to be lodged with the SVGFF Appeal Committee as defined in the Electoral Code.
“We kindly ask you to ensure that the proposed roadmap stipulates when such code will be adopted. The roadmap should also confirm when the subsequent ratification of the members of the electoral bodies,” Jean Marie insisted.
The protracted Elective Congress was initially due last November, but FIFA made it mandatory that elections of the SVGFF must be under the jurisdiction of the new statutes.
Five candidates have been nominated to vie for the top post of President. They are the incumbent- Carl Dickson, along with Otashie Spring, who is the current First Vice President of the SVGFF; the Second Vice-President of the organisation- Wayne Grant; former President – Marvin Fraser and former national player and senior team Manager- Renson Haynes.
Additionally, four candidates are listed for the position of First Vice- President; five for Second Vice President and three for the post of Third Vice- President.
And, the slate of persons seeking to become the five Committee Members, counts sixteen.