Former football coach knocks B.N.F.A.
Yesterday on our newscast B.N.F.A. President Bertie Chimilio denied allegations that national football coach Leroy Sherrier Lewis was fired. Chimilio said Lewis resigned, knowing that sanctions would soon be imposed for outbursts he made after Belize’s three-three tie with Guatemala. Today Lewis visited our studios to give his account of the football drama.
Leroy Sherrier Lewis, Former Nat’l Team Coach
“Somebody from the B.N.F.A.”
Ann-Marie Williams
“Why don’t you want to say?”
Leroy Sherrier Lewis
“No, because I don’t want to get the member in trouble. Because he’s very faithful to me and he’s also faithful to Mr. Chimilio. He told me “Leroy, this morning at 11:00 you were fired. They’re going to have a meeting tomorrow, they’re going to call you in tomorrow, they’re going to say a lot of things, they’re going to put you to fight with your technical staff. Don’t accept that situation, because at the end of the meeting they’re going to tell you you’re fired.” That’s why when he came in a he started talking, I just tell him…”
Ann-Marie Williams
“When who came in Chimilio?”
Leroy Sherrier Lewis
“Yeah, when the meeting start. I say “Doctor, what you do you got to do, what a man got to do, you got to do, because I know I am fired already.” He said, “that is you resignation?” I say, “anyway you want to take it. I just know if you want to give me my plane ticket, to leave?”
“But if he was interested for me to stay, he would say “No Leroy, this is not part of the conversation. This conversation is based on this, and this and the other. But right away, when I say I know what happened yesterday, he said, “that’s your resignation?” I said “of course it’s a resignation.”
Ann-Marie Williams
“So you felt like he wanted you to go.”
Leroy Sherrier Lewis
“Yes. He had everything planned for me to go.”
Ann-Marie Williams
“When you look at how well Belize played in Honduras, although we weren’t able to actually win the game, in terms of our potential at home, what’s your take on it?”
Leroy Sherrier Lewis
“When I came, the first time I spoke to him and I saw some tapes, I say, “Mr. Chimilio, Belize has a lot of potential. We’re got to work and do programmes, we’re got to work on coaches programmes, we got to work on a lot of things.” He said, “Okay, give me the programmes.” I give him the programmes and this it is five months now; he did nothing to try to work on the development programme. So I can tell the Belizean people that Belize has a lot of potential, but Belize has a barrier, strong barrier there that it Mr. Chimilio and part of the executive, that don’t want Belize football to excel. I don’t know why…I think I know why, but.”
Ann-Marie Williams
“Well tell me, because that’s my next question. If he doesn’t the footballers to excel or part of the executive, why don’t they just pack it all in and give the job to somebody else?”
Leroy Sherrier Lewis
“I think the two hundred and fifty thousand millions, that nobody want to leave the…”
Ann-Marie Williams
“Two hundred and fifty thousand million, or two hundred and fifty thousand U.S.?”
Leroy Sherrier Lewis
“Two hundred and fifty thousand U.S. reason why nobody want to leave…They should put it in youth football. They should put it in coaches, in constructing fields, helping the sports; there would be no problems. You think that Trinidad and Tobago don’t get the same amount of money? You think that that the potential of Trinidad and Tobago and Jamaica football is not the same of the Belize area in the Caribbean? It’s the same or better.”
Ann-Marie Williams
“So what’s your recommendation now as you part ways?”
Leroy Sherrier Lewis
“My recommendation is that Mr. Chimilio and the executive; they got to leave if Belize football want to progress.”
Lewis says progress can only be achieved if the league gets its act together, as Belize has no shortage of excellent football players.
Leroy Sherrier Lewis
“Players like Tilliman can play with any team in the world, but Mr. Chimilio don’t believe that. He always think that the players is second class person, and I make him know that the players are number one. The players are the centre of all activities, but he don’t think so. He don’t use time to sit down and talk with the players because he feels he’s better than the players.”
News 5 tried to get hold of Lewis yesterday, but we were unable to discover where he lives. It turns out that he rents accommodation from none other than Bertie Chimilio’s mother. It is not known when or if Lewis will be leaving the country.
