Frustrations have boiled over for Ernie ‘Gillie’ Seymour as his team – Cayman Athletic Sports Club – continues its downward spiral, both on the field and administratively.
Seymour, 66, in a statement sent to a WhatsApp group chat for contributors to the club and shared with the Compass, noted that if he didn’t receive help soon from “serious” individuals who are keen to rebuild the club – which he founded 17 years ago – he would leave.
“If you all are not serious about re-building the club, then please do Coach Gillie one favor and let me know as soon as possible so I can join another organisation who can use my expertise,” he wrote.
Seymour explained in the message that his club had failed to secure financial support, in addition to the issue of players not showing up to training sessions and even for games.
During the 2022-23 Cayman Islands Football Association season, Seymour noted that he worked with a skeleton crew, most times with only eight to nine players – out of the 11 needed to field a full team on the pitch – showing up at games, which affected the team’s results.
Cayman Athletic SC finished at the bottom of the table for the CIFA Men’s First Division League, winning only three out of 14 games.
Seymour, who retired from the Department of Sports last year after serving for more than a quarter century, coached Cayman Athletic into one of the most successful football clubs in the CIFA youth domestic leagues, claiming three consecutive under-15 league titles, the Men’s FA Cup and Charity Shield, and numerous individual player awards.
But the fortunes of his long-time team are waning, for which he blames the lack of help. Seymour noted that the Ministry of Sports is still willing to support the club as they always have through their purchase agreement grants, but with his focus on coaching and with no one to handle the administrative work, the club is missing out on financial opportunities.
“Minister of Sports has decided to stop the funding for CASC and will only resume it in 2024,” Seymour told the Compass, noting that in order to receive the funds next year he would need to present his team’s financial statement and AGM minutes.
“At the moment, the Club [has] no funds and if we’re going to continue with it then some major changes will have to be made,” he said in his WhatsApp message.
With funding issues and a poorly functioning club, Seymour added that he hoped to find a solution to the various problems at the upcoming annual general meeting and CIFA Congress, the latter which deals with financial concerns at the top levels.
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