Trouble brewing ahead of West Confed election

Western Bureau:

The presidential election for the Westmoreland Football Association (FA) has sparked controversy following last Friday's nomination where general secretary Devon Maxwell was nominated to run against current president Everton Tomlinson.

Maxwell, who was nominated by three club affiliates, described the Tomlinson-led administration as a one-man band and is determined to end Tomlinson's 16-year reign.

"Everton has a dictatorship, type approach, and there is no transparency and accountability in the FA. He also took the football out of the communities and playing all the games at Llandilo. So the older clubs in the parish lose interest. I am campaigning for the presidency on the grounds that there is no transparency, no accountability, and rebranding of Westmoreland football for the communities which, of course, I can bring to the table," Maxwell said.

"Mr Tomlinson has lost his vision. His first six years in office, he did exceptionally well. We have a building, we have a lease on the property which is very good and an achievement that no other parish association has. However, infrastructure alone is not football," he added.

"It's a one-man-band in Westmoreland. He is the president and wants to be the general secretary, competition director. He is the treasurer and just about everything."

When contacted about the situation of an attempted opposition to Maxwell's nomination, Tomlinson told STAR Sports the nomination had been successful and that his challenger and his team were 'spreading these whole heap of rumours and lies'.

"The executive has met to look at the nomination, and out of the five they had three eligible, so he is eligible, and we are giving him a fair chance to run," Tomlinson said. "I'm not afraid of the challenge and not trying to avoid him. They are spreading these whole heap of rumours and lies, which don't make sense. If you want to run, you run. The election is set for the 13th, so he will just have to do what he has to do ..."

It is alleged that last Friday's nomination sparked a heated exchange of words between both parties at the Westmoreland FA office in Llandilo. Reports have it that Tomlinson tried to block Maxwell's nomination.

The election is set for December 13.