Crisis in Vincentian sports
During the past week the Vincentian sporting public trekked to the Victoria Park in their numbers welcoming the return of football to the arena.
It has been some time since football was played at the Victoria Park and given the problems surrounding its return the enthusiastic crowds on hand for the matches played would suggest that football does indeed remain as ‘the game of the people.’
On Friday last, Grenada and hosts, St Vincent and the Grenadines, played to a rather tame draw while the national league competition was the main attraction on Saturday evening.
Wrong Decision
The Government of the day made a wrong decision to place the responsibility for the Victoria Park in the hands of the National Lotteries Authority, NLA. When last checked the National Lotteries Authority has a clear mandate to develop a national lottery, inclusive of a number of games, for St Vincent and the Grenadines and to use the income generated to facilitate the development of sports and culture in St Vincent and the Grenadines.
Of course the current administration has also added some other components in respect of the NLAs mandate.
As has happened before, the Minister of Finance, under whose portfolio the NLA falls, has the authority to determine any additional cause(s) he may deem necessary at any given point in time to which the NLAs funds may be applied.
It is very unfortunate that the NLA was given responsibility for the Victoria Park because the organisation has never been involved in anything outside of its mandate such that the upgrading and maintenance of a sporting facility could have been added to it with any measure of justification.
The Governments action is akin to taking a taking a pig-farming establishment and adding to it responsibility for home construction.