Please for some sense of direction re sports facilities
The football season has started and the rains appear to be with us even though the weather pattern seems to be changing so much that the sun is as hot as ever almost every day before the downpours come in late afternoon.
There appears to be something of a mad scramble for playing fields at this time and those that do exist seem to be overworked especially since the schools football season has also commenced.
While one must nonetheless congratulate the National Sports Council for its ability to find places for the different users of the existing playing fields to conduct their activities as much as appears humanly possible, there is still much blame that has to placed at the door of this very institution.
The Mandate
The National Sports Council act mandates the National Sports Council to take responsibility for the playing fields across the nation. The mandate however leaves the Victoria Park outside the ambit of the NSC.
If the politicians would desist from the practice of trying to impress the young by locating playing fields where they believe they can win most votes, we would probably have had a greater chance of our sports facilities being constructed more in keeping with population growth and recreational needs.
The NSC appears to have long since lost its way if only because it has been dominated, from inception, by cricketers and/or individuals hopelessly prejudiced in favour of a sport that continues to wane in terms of popularity among spectators in this country.
More than this, the NSC has been a political football in terms of its membership, and in this regard comes in a very close second only to the National Lotteries Authority.
It is therefore not difficult to recognize that the NSC appears to work more as an agency of the political party in power more than an agency of genuine sports development.
The NSC makes no creative input into the determination of where a sports facility is to be located or the components of the particular facility. This remains a political decision and the NSC merely dances to the latest tune doled out by the cabinet, itself a decision of the party in power.
Not surprisingly therefore the changes being made at Arnos Vale, home of the NSC, are being under the direct supervision of the World Cup Committee and not the Council.
The Council appears to have no real control over the Triangle at Richmond Hill nor the Squash Complex at Paul’s Avenue.