Football Federation on King’s Death

News Five also spoke with Marlon Kuylen at the Football Federation of Belize who met John King in training. Kuylen says the F.F.B. seeks to create a safe space for young men and women from various backgrounds to flourish. What the cameras do not capture is the time spent investing in the personal lives of these young athletes off the field.  They become like family, says Kuylen, and F.F.B. officials often times fear for the lives of their athletes when it’s time for them to return to their communities.

Marlon Kuylen

Marlon Kuylen, Football Federation of Belize           

“You have to understand we get attached to these players, they become our nephews our sons, our daughters, we care for them. We try to get them out of the environment. We have placed almost thirteen of our girls and boys in college in the US, full scholarships so that they not only become educated, but they get better training and be in a professional environment and developed to represent our national team better. These are the kind of things we look at to get them out of the environment they are in to better their lives. I have had instances where I had to go and meet with certain players and this one in particular was ashamed of the area he was in and asked me to meet him somewhere else and you could see he wasn’t comfortable. I had to have a good talk with him because of his Facebook post and all the negativity. I told him if you want to represent our country you have to do better. Remember you are a role model these kids will look up to you. We do fear for our athletes’ lives and their safety, but unfortunately this is the era we are living in.”