Selection begins for national football squad
By all accounts it has been a war waged for too long. The power struggle between the Football Federation of Belize and the Belize Premier Football league over who runs things in Belizean football is not only embarrassing the country on the international stage, but is also hampering attempts to improve the nation’s future performance. It is an issue that’s in the news yet again as Belize prepares to enter another World Cup qualifying round. And as I found out today, hopes are high, but practical expectations are low.
Janelle Chanona, Reporting
This afternoon, the Football Federation of Belize announced that on June twentieth Belize would host the national team of Canada at The People’s Stadium in Orange Walk. Accepting the honour was Mayor of Orange Walk Town, Henry Castillo.
Henry Castillo, Mayor, Orange Walk
“We proudly accept this gesture and we are hoping that having a game of this magnitude in Orange Walk, it will give all the rest of the country an opportunity to want to upgrade all their facilities.”
But the power play will be upgrading the level of international performance in just six months. And that job falls to National Team Head Coach Anthony “Garincha” Adderley.
Anthony “Garincha” Adderley, Head Coach, Bz. National Team
“Again, I must stress, we are asking people to support us and we’re asking people to cooperate with us. It is a short time, but it our hope that by the first week in March we will have a team to showcase to the Belizean people for at least two and a half months. During that time the Belizean people will have their input and then we prepare for some district games to show off our boys within the country and then we go on to some international tests, hopefully Mexico will be one of those teams. Mexico is considered the top team that will give us an opportunity to see where we stand after training. And then finally it’s Canada. Belize will be going to Canada, it’s a Belize selection.”
But will Belize’s best players be on the field? Logic would say no. The F.F.B. and the Belize Premier Football League continue to buck heads, and come training day January twentieth, players will once again have chose patrimony over payday.
Attempts to mediate a settlement have come from as high as the Prime Minister’s office and include the National Sports Council. But with compromise nowhere in sight, President of the F.F.B., Bertie Chimilio is sticking to his guns.
Bertie Chimilio, Pres., Football Federation of Belize
“Bear in mind that this federation is not the kind that would go to the media for everything, every minute. We believe in solving our problems in-house. And we’ve done that for the last two years trying to make sure that our problems, our dirty linens stays home and does not go out in the public. But agendas are set, and when people are entrenched in agendas the only thing that can defeat them is principles, the only thing that can defeat them is regulations, the only thing that can defeat them in the truth.”
“The National Sports Council is here to regulate sports, I do agree, but there is a way, there is a manner in which it ought to be done, not in an intimidating manner as was tried in that meeting… The F.F.B. is the only, only association in FIFA–FIFA has two hundred and four associations. We are the only associations that have been audited twice in the last three years by auditors from FIFA and we have passed with flying colours. This association also is the only association that initiated whatever monies came from FIFA back in 1998 that our programme was all over the Caribbean.”
Belize will travel to Kingston, Ontario to play the Canadian national team on June thirteenth. One week later, the Canadians will arrive to play the Belize squad on June twentieth at the People’s Stadium in Orange Walk.
