Guinea-FGF: congress cancelled, what future for Guinean football?

With less than two months to go before AFCON 2024 in Côte d’Ivoire, Guinean football is in disarray. Two years after the Normalisation Committee took charge of Feguifoot, tensions have never been higher. A genuine crisis of confidence has set in between the statutory members and the Normalisation Committee. The congress, meant to end the crisis eating away at Guinean football, is more deadlocked than ever. Neither side is budging, and the standoff that began on 25 November continued the following day and led to the congress being cancelled. The G47, the collective of statutory members whose head of list was struck out by the electoral commission two days before the vote, in breach of article 30, paragraph 4 of the statutes and articles 12 and 27 of Feguifoot's electoral code, notably decided to go on the offensive.

They boycotted the congress. Of 61 statutory members, only 21 were present, which left the meeting 8 short of the quorum required to hold the congress. Postponed to the next day, the same scenario was repeated, with 22 members out of 61 attending this time. To reach the required quorum, the Normalisation Committee was prepared to use every means available, even annulling the results of the elections in four of the 5 regional leagues (Labé, Boké, Mamou and Kankan). It was a new step in the electoral process. Faced with the intransigence of the G47, which demands the return of its candidate to the race and the dismissal of the Electoral Appeals Commission, the deadlock continues between these statutory members and Conor, which is determined to hold the congress at all costs.

With the two sides at loggerheads, the Guinean Prime Minister, who had been involved in the adoption of the texts that led to the congress being organised, was called on once again. Dr Bernard Goumou received a delegation from the Normalisation Committee at the prime minister's office in a desperate attempt to find consensus. It was to no avail. With the quorum still not reached for a second consecutive day, the congress was cancelled. And on 30 November, Conor's time will be up and the secretary general of the federation will take over in an interim capacity, the FIFA envoy announced. “Under the provisions of the federation's texts, in the absence of an elected Executive Committee, it is the federation's secretary general who will handle day-to-day affairs,” explained Rolf Tanner.

Gelson Fernandes: “Guinea holds its destiny in its own hands”

After two years of transitional management, Guinean football is more deadlocked than ever. Against this backdrop, a FIFA mission led by the Regional Director of the Africa division, Gelson Fernandes, arrived in Conakry to try to end the crisis eating away at Guinean football. After meeting the various stakeholders, the former Switzerland international announced a first consequence of the impasse. “The CAF school championship that was due to be held in Guinea will not take place. That means Guinea, the reigning champions, will not be able to defend their title, despite three months of preparation,” Gelson Fernandes lamented. He went on: “It is not for us to eliminate or validate anyone. Other, more serious things could happen. I am not going to brandish a threat. I hope Kaba Diawara is well enough prepared for a good AFCON in such a delicate context. I have nothing against anyone in this country. I hope the sports minister and the prime minister are aware of the situation,” the FIFA envoy warned.

Two years after the appointment of the Normalisation Committee, the situation is still at a standstill. For Gelson Fernandes, the ball is in Guinea's court. “Guinea holds its destiny in its own hands. The ball is in Guinea's court. It is Guinea who knows which category it will be placed in. In the coming days, we will issue directives on the way forward,” Gelson Fernandes announced. He continued: “This congress is a historic international fiasco. It is a terrible rebuke. I was stunned. We cannot afford this two months before the AFCON,” the former Switzerland international said.

With two days left before Conor's mandate ends, the crisis is far from over. For the FIFA envoy, an internal solution is the best way out of this impasse. “A road map will be provided by FIFA and CAF. Let's put our egos aside and find a solution to this fiasco,” Gelson Fernandes suggested. “Conor is not responsible for the electoral process, nor for the appeals process. Nor are FIFA or CAF,” Gelson Fernandes stated flatly. The CAF envoy echoed his view. “FIFA and CAF are satisfied with Conor's management. They provided the means to enable a return to normality. Unfortunately, the members could not agree,” said Jean-Jacques Diène, CAF's governance manager.

After 24 months at the helm of Feguifoot, tasked with restoring calm after a crisis that had shaken Guinean football, the Normalisation Committee has created more unrest than it has resolved. The statutory members are more divided than ever and Conor has failed to restore order in Guinean football. The situation is more toxic than ever. Pending a new road map, to be validated by CAF and FIFA, the secretary general of the Guinean football federation will remain in charge on an interim basis beyond 30 November, the date on which the Normalisation Committee's mandate ends. 

Mamadou Gongorè DIALLO