Who Ruined the Andres Campos Football Pitch in Corozal Town? And why?
Officials of the Corozal Sports Council have filed a complaint with Corozal police after someone was captured on video using a car to willfully ruin the football pitch on the Andres Campos compound near the Civic Centre. The act of vandalism occurred at night and the while the car appeared to be a white, the driver could not be detected, because he was inside a heavily-tinted vehicle. News Five’s Marion Ali has the story in this report.
Marion Ali, Reporting
A video recording of the incident, presumably on Tuesday night, captured a heavily-tinted white car being driven aimlessly across the football pitch at the Andres Campos compound. It shows the vehicle making sharp turns.
By morning, the damage was evident –tires marks that went in all directions. The damage, however, was concentrated in the center of the pitch. Administrative Officer with the Council, Miriam Villamil told News Five that this incident has rendered the field unusable for several months.
Miriam Villamil
Miriam Villamil, Administrative Officer, Corozal Sports Council
“A car came into the compound and did all sort of donuts and skids around the field and it will take a while before we can use this part of the field for our academy, which happens every Saturday morning. It’s not safe for the kids. We have kids six to eight-year-olds. It’s not safe for them at the moment. They can easily get a twist ankle, scrapes.”
But who could have damaged the field and why would they do it? Officials feel this act was nothing less than political vandalism to undermine a sports academy that the Ministry of Sports just began in Corozal and that the Minister spoke about publicly only last week.
Miriam Villamil
“I’m pretty sure that the whole Corozal District knows that we have a kids academy Saturday, so for that person to come in and do something like this, knowing that we have kids’ activities here, I think that’s just really sad and very disappointing. A complaint has been filed at the police station, so (we’re) just hoping that the law carries out its duty from here.”
But one person’s attempt to ruin a weekend activity is just that, Villamil says. They will hold the children’s football academy to another field.
Miriam Villamil
“We can’t stop the academy. It’s something that happens every Saturday and kids are registered for this, so we have to continue but we have to find another space. The other field at the stadium is fenced up. It’s secured. This is the only one that doesn’t really have a fence around it. But I’m pretty sure that the organization I’m working with, the National Sports Council, will be working towards getting it fenced up sometime soon.”
It will take a long time for the pitch to be in suitable condition to play football matches again because new seedlings will have to be replanted, the sports official said.
Miriam Villamil
“It’s a process because more than likely we will have to replant seeds because we can’t use any kind of grass for it so we need to replant that.”
Marion Ali
“How long a process is it?”
Miriam Villamil
“About six months.”
The Corozal Sports Council will explore the possibility of hiring a watchman at the field to deter future acts of vandalism there.
Marion Ali For News Five
