In a press release dated January 24, 2008, the UDP were at great pains to, and justifiably so, condemn the PUP government for “failure to upgrade any of our football stadiums countrywide to FIFA-approved international standards. Those stadiums are all owned by the Government of Belize. It is therefore the government’s responsibility to upkeep and to upgrade them as required.” I am 100% in agreement with that position.
The UDP also registered its opposition “to the decision to have our national football selection play FIFA World Cup qualifying home games in Guatemala. Such a decision represents a serious affront to our national sovereignty, especially in light of the territorial claim which that specific country continues to make on Belize.” Again, I am 100% with that statement.
But the UDP stops there. Sure, lambaste the government; they deserve it. But what about the leadership of the FFB that made that decision? Nobody held a gun (we don’t think) to Dr. Bertie Chimilio’s head and told him to go to Guatemala. Four years ago, in a similar situation, he took the Belize selection to play its World Cup elimination series on the turf of our opponents, then Canada. Why didn’t he do that this time, and send our boys to St. Kitts/Nevis to play the series, or even one game, as FIFA rules dictate if we can’t get agreement on another “home” field?
I don’t know if Dr. Bertie made that decision to go to Guatemala to spite the PUP government, at this time of elections. But both the UDP and the PUP are letting us down big time right now, because they are both acquiescing to this atrocity. The Prime Minister, like the Leader of the Opposition, has condemned the FFB’s decision, but neither of them is calling for our team, Team Belize, to boycott the game, in the interest of “our national sovereignty”. The Minister of Sports sheepishly agreed that, since his Ministry has failed to get the field ready in time, then “we will have to go” to Guatemala. No, we don’t have to go. We can boycott the game.
The last time the UDP and the PUP agreed on something concerning Guatemala, it was the “confidence building measures” and before that, the Maritime Areas Act. Now it seems they are both agreeing to let our national team go to Guatemala, on the argument that we have no choice. Yes, we do have a choice. We can stand up like proud, Independent Belize and say, “No; we won’t go”. The President of the FFB adamantly refused to consult with anyone before committing Belize to play in Guatemala: let him pick up a group of his friends and lackeys and go and play the game, but not as Team Belize. Can the UDP and the PUP both agree to that position; or are you both afraid to shake the “confidence” of our neighbors?