BELIZE CITY, Mon. Mar. 28, 2022– Today, a groundbreaking ceremony was held to mark the start of the refurbishment of the Berger Field on Vernon Street in Belize City. Last November, the Football Federation of Belize (FFB), the Ministry of Sports and Youth, and the Ministry of Tourism signed a memorandum of understanding to move forward with the upgrade of the iconic football field that has been used by many of our past and current local football stars. President of the FFB, Sergio Chuc, in his presentation today, remarked that since the football field is controlled by the National Sports Council, this project will not be supported with FIFA funding.
“Today, the commitment is coming from the Football Federation of Belize, not necessarily from FIFA funding. As you know, we have been doing a lot of projects through FIFA funding, but for those projects that we do, we have to have control of those facilities, we have to have a long-term lease or a title for those properties. We don’t have any lease or any title for this [Berger Field], the National Sports Council has it, but because of the executive we have in place, we have managed to tap into different resources and bring new funding to the federation, and I can confidently state today that through our broadcasting partners that we have signed a contract with and we are about to re-sign, we have identified the funding to put in our one-third, because Minister Mahler is putting in next one third and the Ministry of Sports through the National Sports Council is putting in their one third,” Chuc said.
Their hopes are that the upgrade of the facility will be completed before the end of this year, and will revitalize sports in that community, where footballers like Deon McCaulay and Ian Gaynair first became familiar with the pitch.
In his statement, the Minister of Toursim, Hon. Anthony Mahler, whose ministry has also partnered in this project, said, “Now, I look around, and other than our local athletes we don’t have many heroes these days – you can’t say we da the heroes, right? The politicians, cause we talk wa pile ah nonsense inna the House all the time, goh off up ata one another, so our athletes are our heroes, our musicians are our heroes. People in those walks of life are our hero, people who put in the time and effort to uplift themselves. So I will say on behalf of my Ministry that we will support the Ministry of Youths and Sports as much as possible.”
He said they made a commitment to the chairman of the Sports Council to relaunch the Belize City Games and the Belize Games and also to launch a cycling tour across Belize. Along with this, there are plans for a fishing tournament, and revitalization of the basketball and football tournament is also in the works, all in an effort to re-spark sports across the country, he said.
“If you want to be great, you have to have discipline. if you want to be great, you have to put in the work; if you want to be great, you have to have the mindset, and so I want to challenge all our young people to be great in school. If you are more inclined to sport, be great in sports; if you want to be a plumber, be great in being that plumber, but just be great. We’ve been mediocre for far too long in this country and it cannot continue, as we are going to compete on a global scale,” stated Minister of Tourism, Hon. Anthony Mahler.
New Minister of Sports, Hon. Rodwell Ferguson, further said that upon assuming the new portfolio, he promptly met with the executive of the FFB to chart a path forward. He said that he has observed a breakdown in the sporting facilities across Belize City, and he is seeking to address that issue.
“We all have a responsibility for this country, and at some point, we must bridge the gap and work together for the betterment of all. As I look around Belize City, I realize that there has been a breakdown when it comes to facilities to provide for young people,” he said.
He stated that the additional 2 million dollars allocated in the budget for this coming fiscal year were lobbied for and supported by almost 100 percent of the Cabinet.
“If we are to transform a nation, we have to first touch the base with our young people,” Hon. Ferguson commented.
And while previous plans to upgrade this field have not been put into motion, Sergio Chuc says this time it will come to fruition.
“We are very, very happy that they’ve decided to come onboard and do this project, and we will do it to full fruition. Hopefully by the end of the year it should be completed,” he said.