The Guyana Football Federation (GFF) plans develop a comprehensive compensation policy, consistent with international best practice, covering key areas such as pay allowances, salaries, match fees, and bonuses for the senior women’s football team. According to the GFF, this policy is expected to be fully implemented ahead of the FIFA Women’s World Cup qualifying games in November this year.
The proposed policy comes hot on the heels of the Lady Jags senior women’s football team, calling on the local governing body to treat them the same as the men’s side. They sent a letter to First Lady Arya Ali and the Minister for Culture, Youth and Sport, Charles Ramson Jr. asking them to intervene on their behalf.
The Golden Jaduars are paid and paid, but the Lady Jags have never received anything, though they have been more successful than the Golden Jaguars on the international stage over the years.
In their letter to Mrs Ali and Minister Ramson, the Lady Jags said they were “writing to express our frustrations about the unfair and unfair distribution of resources and support provided to female participants compared to our male counterparts”.
“We are feeling the impact of years of systemic prejudice. We have been downgraded to second-class citizens because of our gender despite our records and achievements being among the best across the Caribbean region, ”said the Lady Jags in a letter signed by team members.
The statement from the GFF highlighted that it “recognizes the concerns raised by the team in a letter shared with the Guyana Government and the media last week.”
GFF president Wayne Forde said, “It is regrettable that this valuable group of players did not take the opportunity to raise their concerns directly with the Federation’s executive or administration.”
Forde said GFF recognizes the seriousness of the issues raised and is very concerned that some of Guyana’s most valuable players feel disenfranchised in this way. He further highlighted that “the Executive will reach out to players to meet and discuss the matter in the coming days.”
The GFF statement also referred to the relaunch of women’s football in 2017, highlighting an essential element of the relaunch was the establishment of the International Support Group (ISG), based in North America that serves as the interface between the Federation and the international coaching staff and the players.
The ISG, she said, is made up of highly qualified people and plays a vital role in identifying and selecting international players for the national women’s team as well as coordinating team camps and preparations.