Gonsalves confident of re-election

The president of the Antigua & Barbuda Football Association (ABFA) and former national striker, Everton Gonsalves, has expressed confidence in his ability to win a third term in office when the body hosts general elections on May 13.
His prediction comes just days after he revealed the much debated and anticipated date during an extraordinary meeting held at the Multipurpose Cultural Centre last Wednesday.
“I am a footballer and I have given blood, sweat and tears, so when I go to play a match and I see this election as a match, I intend to win. I intend to score goals because, as you know, I score goals on and off the field as president and I scored a lot of goals when I played. So I am extremely grateful for this opportunity to be going into this wonderful match to serve all those member clubs with confidence,” he said.
Following the announcement of the election date, one potential challenger, Keithroy Black, praised Gonsalves and stated that the president did the “right thing” by naming a day in May when the association will go to the polls.
Black had recently written to Gonsalves, suggesting that the president was looking at a December date, which, according to Black, would have been unconstitutional.
According to Gonsalves, however, both logic and the ABFA Constitution would have dictated that the elections come at a much earlier date.
“In 2012, I was elected [but] the detractors and the opponents were not satisfied so they wrote to FIFA and we had the re-election in May 2013. And if my mandate is four years, then May 13, 2017 is the end of four years and so that is the date of the extraordinary congress at which there will be one item on the agenda: the election of the president, the executive and members,” he said.
To date, Gonsalves could face challenges from Black and one other candidate, Joel Rayne, for the association’s top spot. One other potential candidate, Devon Joseph, said he will also contest the election. He said however, he will not run for the presidency.