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A chat with veteran footballer Gerald “Speedy” Henry – Part 8

SportsA chat with veteran footballer Gerald “Speedy” Henry – Part 8
(in Kremandala yard, under the coconut tree, around 10:15 a.m. to 12:00 noon, Wednesday, January 18, 2012.)
 
Continued from previous issue of Sunday, March 18, 2012 
 
(FFB Executive elections were held last Thursday night, March 15. Speedy lost his bid for the presidency to another accomplished veteran of the sport, Ruperto Vicente, the new FFB President, who is joined by new Senior Vice-President Sergio Chuc, a member of his slate. A member of Speedy’s slate, Rawell Pelayo, is the new 2nd Vice President; and the two other new Executive Members, Cruz Gamez and Marlon Kuylen, were also members of Speedy’s slate of candidates. Hopefully, Speedy and the other members who offered themselves as candidates, but were unsuccessful, will be called upon to fill posts on the many dormant FFB committees.)  
 
A: How difficult was it? (The Inquiry Commission report) The report took much longer than anticipated, and we were hoping it would come out… to get the ball rolling before the FIFA World Cup (qualifiers) got under way and all that, you know.
 
S: But there were circumstances that prevented us from completing it. Remember that Joe McGann, who was the chairman, he worked with Climate Change; and there were times when he would be out of the country for days upon days. And then… so what we decided to do was to devise a strategy, where myself and Oswald (attorney Oswald Twist) would move, even though the chairman was not there; but one of us would take over, take turns trying to interview people. And so, that was the way how we did it, because we wanted to touch base…
 
A: So you travelled the country?
 
S: Yaa, countrywide. We came to Belize City here, and we had interviews and… but, it was always, trying to get out… and then, Oswald is an attorney, so he…
 
A: So he was busy too..
 
S: He had his days when he…
 
A: Had to go to court, no?
 
S: Yaa… but we did devise a strategy where, when we went to Punta Gorda, on our way back, we tried to capture Dangriga, you know. So, on occasions we would be out in the district there till… sometimes we got back late. But, eventually, the report did come out, and we…
 
A: It was a clincher, I think, because the report really revealed a lot of things that corroborated a lot of hearsay and suspicion and allegations, you know?
S: Yes… When I looked at the report, it also helped me to put together some of the things that I feel can be done in order to bring a little bit to the game… a little to those who are responsible… people like associations… so, what we did was, we put together a (manifesto), as it were, to create change; and we said, “The Future Is Now.”      
  
I have this (lifts up a bound booklet). This is actually the executive summary… an executive summary of our plan, the wider plan… 
 
(Speedy then elaborated a bit on his slate’s plan for football development. The election is now history, but the ideas and strategies laid down in his “The Future Is Now” plan could still be a useful tool as the new executive, led by Ruperto Vicente, works on devising its Strategic Plan for football.       
  
After a lengthy discourse about the details of his plan, we tried to conclude our discussion/interview, a sometimes difficult task when two football friends get to talking ‘ball.)
 
A: Speedy, I have to ask you a hard question. It’s a question that I don’t want you to feel offended by. But this generation of young people, and the times they live in, they think so differently about things, and they have good reason to… some of them will say, “Well, hmmm… what is in it for Speedy?” What is in it for you, to want to accept this challenge… what do you want out of this?
S:  As I said, I looked at it, and after thinking about it, I said, all these and more, what I have mentioned there (in the booklet). Where I am concerned, all I want is to set a proper foundation that we can follow. For instance, for the past so many years – how many is it, 14 years? – nobody knows what happened with the resources of the (FFB)… As I said earlier, that every year we will have our annual report, where we share what has been done with the funds available. It is more to bring some structure to the FFB. That is my goal; to bring some structure to it. Right? Because right now things are haphazard. Nobody knows anything; nobody knows anything at all. And some of them, they’re so happy to be a part of the FFB, that they don’t ask any questions, for fear of being ostracized. Right? I don’t want that, you know. I want people to question me. I want to avail myself; that if somebody has some kind of question to ask, that they ask me. In fact, I want it to be that they ask me after I have made a report. That even before they ask me, that they can question me, and perhaps the financial report, which is sent out, you know, which is put there; because…
 
A: I heard you were on Plus TV the other night…
 
S: Yaa.. I did it on Monday night, with Garbutt, you know… because, all of this… What can FIFA do for us? A lot. Right? What can the media do for us? Because we cannot isolate ourselves from the media. That is one way we can disseminate information, my friend. That is the way how things are done. If we are doing things the proper way, there is nothing, no reason why we should hide. You understand? Why should we hide from the media? Because I’ll tell you what, my experience with the media… and I have said this to my people when I was working (at the Ministry)… and when the media would buzz about anything… I said to them, “Look,” – this was our saying at Ministry of Works – “if there is something that you do not like about the Ministry, please tell me. If there is something you like about the Ministry, tell others.
 
A: (laughs) Okay, I get you.
 
S: You understand me? And it is the same thing with this, you know? You don’t like something about how the FFB, or some matter comes up that you feel needs some clarification? Please, contact me; contact us. You understand me? But at the same time, through the media we can also get a lot of things done. Because the media is there to disseminate all the information, reach the people, and through that medium there is so much that can be accomplished. You understand me?
  
So, I don’t really, I’m not in it for anything. Some people say, “Oh, because you…”, I remember on the program on Monday, somebody said, “Look, you worked at the Commission of Inquiry, and so, as a result of that, you see money in there, and that is the reason why you…” My friend, look here… That is one thing… my children or my wife… I don’t owe anything on the land that I bought, the ten acres…                                            
 
(When I spoke to Speedy by phone this morning, Monday, March 19, he was comfortably back at home with his wife of 31 years, Barbara, at their home/resort outside of San Ignacio, where they sometimes rent accommodations for private events like weddings, etc.)

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