With less than two weeks to go before the feguifoot elective congress, rumours are rife. While the idea of postponing the vote had emerged in recent weeks, the Guinean Minister of Sport warned the Normalisation Committee against slipping the timetable.
Is the visit to the Syli HQ the last straw?
After nearly two years of transitional management, will Guinean soccer finally see the light at the end of the tunnel? That's the question on the minds of Guinean soccer observers. With just a few days to go before the end of its mandate, the Guinean Football Federation's normalization committee is suspected of slipping the electoral calendar. The body is also in conflict with the Guinean Minister of Sport. The latter did not at all appreciate the Conor's visit to the national team's hotel for the AFCON 2023.
"We were surprised to learn that the visit to the hotel chartered to the Guinean national team for the next Can in Côte d'Ivoire was carried out by CONOR without informing my department, or even associating it," denounced Béa Diallo in a letter addressed to the President of the Normalisation Committee.He added another layer by pointing the finger at the sponsorship contract signed by CONOR and the telephone operator Orange."I don't have any transparency that tells me that we have a sponsor and they don't say how many percent they put into the national team. And it's this lack of transparency that bothers me. Sponsorship is all very well, but we need to be kept informed. At the end of the day, we're the ones who pay 100%", the Minister laments.
Faced with persistent rumors of a shift, Lansana Béa Diallo, in a letter addressed to FIFA, warned against any shift in the electoral calendar by CONOR. "The events of November 4 seem to have led to a slight shift, according to the information at our disposal. However, the situation has now returned to normal. However, the security conditions are now in place to organize the various remaining polls without any particular difficulties", reassures Béa Diallo.
Despite this situation, and in the face of persistent rumors, four candidacy files were registered. The Minister of Sport denounces CONOR's silence: "We have no detailed information on these lists, despite the requests made to CONOR in this regard", regrets the official.
CONOR replies
The truce was short-lived.In a letter sent to the Minister of Sport, the President of the Normalisation Committee denounced the latter's attitude.
"You seem to take offence at not having been involved in the choice of the base for the next AFCON in Côte d'Ivoire. It is therefore important to know that it is not the responsibility of the Ministry of Sport to validate the infrastructures that will house the national team taking part in an AFCON. This role is devolved to the federation and the coach," reads the letter.It goes on."We formally deny the assertion that CONOR has challenged the national team's hotel, which is provided free of charge by CAF.
On the contrary, CONOR simply raised reservations about the security and peace of mind of the Syli National," explained Mariama Diallo Sy.
To drive the point home, the president of the standardization committee warned against any interference. "This approach, which constitutes an attempt to interfere in the management of feguifoot, has surprised us all the more, given that not long ago you praised us for the quality of our collaboration with your department," added Mariama Diallo Sy.
The electoral commission stalls
With the situation becoming increasingly tense, and accusations more and more persistent, the president of the electoral commission came out of his silence to reassure the various players. "We reassure all the players in soccer, all the players in this world, that the electoral commission has received no influence from any person, from any authority. We work in full legitimacy and legality. So rest assured that all decisions taken by the electoral commission are truly its decision. And nothing will stand in the way of respecting the electoral calendar", explained Abdoul Karim Diaby.
With less than two weeks to go before the elective congress marking the end of the normalisation committee's term of office, the situation between the Ministry of Sport and the feguifoot CONOR is more volatile than ever. It remains to be seen what the outcome will be of this tug-of-war between the two institutions.
