Patriotic Belizean fans are heartbroken, embarrassed by our 7-nil loss to Costa Rica in a Gold Cup qualifier at the packed FFB Stadium on Friday night. Veteran footballers and knowledgeable fans are angry and disgusted; the Ministry of Sports, under a new minister, has been silent so far; but the FFB is upbeat, singing the same old song on its Facebook page on Saturday: “the potential and promise of our young players”, “their journey is just beginning”, thanking “all our fans who came out to support”, and asking them to “stay with us as we continue to grow and build together.” It did not mention the lament of coach Charlie Slusher before the match that he had to make major last-minute adjustments when a number of his first-eleven players suddenly withdrew a few days before the game. We have tried to keep a distance from FFB matters because over the years this organization which controls our football has proven to be a law onto itself, answering only to FIFA. But the problem is that in international competition, the Jaguars carry our Belizean flag; they represent all of us, Belize, and so what is going on with our team has to be our concern.

Even big nations have taken big losses at times, and we are not laying blame on Charlie Slusher, the first Belizean national team coach under the FFB to lead our Jaguars in a Gold Cup qualifier match, and against no less than Costa Rica at that, now ranked #5 in Concacaf. Charlie is a warrior and a champion; he was as a player, and he has proven his mettle as a coach. No, Charlie did his best under the circumstances; and thanks to his resiliency in a tough situation, and the players he had to work with, our young men gave their all for ninety minutes in a losing effort, outclassed but not disgraced by any unsportsmanlike behavior or any signs of giving up. No, what fans are angry about is not the 7-nil score against powerhouse Costa Rica, but the fact that we handicapped ourselves before the game even started; and that ball stops with the FFB.  It’s a generations-old story of disrespect for football players in Belize; and we’re not about to make them the scapegoats for a systemic failure that has its roots in the perceived millions of dollars annually that the FFB receives from FIFA for “development”.

From way back in the 1960s, when professional football was only a dream held by many ‘ballers who mostly come from the underprivileged sectors of society, there was that negative attitude towards some players who thought they deserved payment. “Dehn bad bwai always waahn talk bout money,” was the attitude of the colonial-minded officials of the sport, who stuck to the letter of the international Olympic mantra of amateurism, and castigated players that they would “lose their amateur status” if they received even a copper from playing football. It was a contradiction, because professionalism was already worldwide in football, and many unemployed or ambitious footballers naturally aspired to “go pro”. In fact, it was well documented that the great Queens Park Rangers team in Pomona, Stann Creek, attracted top players countrywide with the offer of jobs with the citrus company in what would be considered a semi-pro situation, although there was no official semi-pro league at the time. The same applied with the sugar companies up north in Corozal and Orange Walk. In Belize City 1st Division football, some star players got jobs working for the business of their team sponsor; others who were already employed would receive inducements in cash or kind, “under the table”, of course. The thing is, it was always there, and the sponsors/owners and team managements were themselves committed to, and in love with the sport; the stars were their idols too, and thus the top players were accorded their esteemed status in the game.   

But with the growth of the sport and the international connection with FIFA achieved by the Belize National Football Association (BNFA) in 1986, and later the Football Federation of Belize (FFB) in the latter 1990s, suddenly there was big administrative financing of the sport by FIFA for “football development”. A whole bureaucracy soon emerged with administrative costs to “develop football” across the country.  Football had always been played across the country, from primary school to high school, and at junior and senior amateur association levels. But many administrative positions were now on salary in the various associations and the FFB headquarters in Belmopan. Meanwhile, none of that FIFA money trickled down directly to the many volunteer coaches that continued to apply themselves to youth and amateur teams across the country. Granted, FFB coaching programs have been providing training for some who could access the training in Belmopan and have thus been certified at different levels. Likewise, there have been many training and certification programs to upgrade our referees. Fine.

The players who make up the national team that represents Belize in international tournaments under the auspices of the FFB, get their early training and development through the traditional primary school, high school, and private Mundialito tournaments along with the district association amateur tournaments at junior and senior levels, with the best young talents being drafted for further grooming by professional teams in the Premier League of Belize (PLB), from which the best players are selected to the national team by the FFB.

Despite attendance at games still not being high in Belize, and players only receiving limited salaries from their PLB clubs, at least they get respect with a professional contract, through which they are also supposed to receive social security coverage. Someday, when the crowds begin packing our local stadiums, top players in our PLB will begin to receive handsome salaries. Until then, the aspiration of most players is to achieve a call to the Belize National Team for international competition. There is a sense of respect, achievement, to say that “I played on the national team;” and just as importantly, there is also the matter of the financial rewards that achieving national team stature is supposed to translate to. But therein lies a dilemma that the FFB faces in its dealing with the established stars of the game. FIFA rules restrict how the FFB can handle finances with the national team; and the limited remuneration to players must be equal across the board, no regard for star status, and that has irked some veteran stars at times. 

From what we can gather, the salary that the FFB is paying our national team players is not that much; and that is a big problem to start with. There were rumors about FFB reneging on its contract with some players, but sources inside FFB say, not so. Admittedly, there is a problem of great expectations, and what the FFB can currently afford with FIFA restrictions on how its funding is to be used. With the massive fan turnout on Friday, some additional “chums” are expected to reach the players. 

For sure, the FFB has to find a solution to this problem, maybe with help from Government.  We’re not calling any players’ names, because this has been a recurring problem over the years due to “the system”. As a nation we must treat our national team players better. We can’t accuse any player of not being patriotic. Nationalism should also mean standing up for your rights, or dictators will soon rule our country. Our young men under coach Charlie Slusher will give their all again in Costa Rica on Tuesday, and we’ll stand by them. The buck stops with FFB president Sergio Chuc, who was recently re-elected as Concacaf vice-president for the Central American region. We’ll save our applause for when his FFB figures out a better way to handle our national team players so we can present our nation’s best on the football field. Kungoh, Belize!