St. Maarten’s national football team arrives from Miami this afternoon, after having beaten the US Virgin Islands (USVI) 2-1 Tuesday night in St. Croix to top Group A and earn promotion to League B of the Concacaf Nations League as well as a spot in the 2023 Gold Cup preliminaries. One or more ministers and perhaps parliamentarians will probably be present at the airport.
They ought to keep in mind that this feat was accomplished without once being able to really host a game. Local soccer facilities are not considered apt for matches sanctioned by FIFA.
While congratulating the players and taking pictures with them, consider the urgent need to address this undesirable situation. Devastating Hurricane Irma obviously did not help, but that was 5½ years ago.
Granted, Parliament sent the right message with its unanimous motion to restore half of a two-thirds cut in funds for scholastic sports during the recent 2023 budget debate. There are also existing ideas to renovate Raoul Illidge Sports Complex at Cay Hill.
The latter is part of a master plan for the area that includes construction of the new Social and Health Insurances SZV Plaza office building, a 24/7 accessible park with jogging lane, playground and benches. The announced sports facilities will reportedly feature two upgraded tennis courts, an Olympic-size swimming pool and a full-size multi-purpose field for basketball, netball, volleyball, football and hockey.
It’s hard to imagine how some of these other sports can be practised on a soccer pitch whether with real or artificial grass, but even exchanging playing surfaces, etc., may be possible. Little mention has also been made of the stadium, stands and capacity, which are very important aspects for international competition.
These footballers went out and did the country proud, but every effort should now be made so they can continue doing so at home in front of their own crowds sooner rather than later.
