Have Commitment – By Neto Baptiste
Have Commitment Nyah Roberts
Antigua and Barbuda Football Association (ABFA) presidential hopeful, Ickford “Nyah” Roberts, said Minister of Sports Daryll Matthew has committed to working with him and his team regarding a return of the body’s highest tier to the Antigua Recreation Grounds (ARG).
Roberts, one of several individuals who expressed a desire to contest the FA’s presidential race due in May, believes a return to the historic venue would significantly boost gate receipts and bring much needed finances into the coffers of football.
“We spoke with the Minister of Sports and he gave us his commitment in terms of returning football back to ARG. We still have to meet him in terms of, well, when we get into office to iron out the details in terms of scheduling and stuff like that but he said he had no problems in returning football. We reached out to him because looking at the financials, the sponsorship is lacking so we need to maximise as much gate receipts as we can and going back to ARG would be a perfect fitting for that,” he said.
Roberts, a former national player and a former executive member, believes the current leadership within the football fraternity, soured the relationship between the Ministry of Sports and the football association for many years because of their poor management of the facility in the past.
“I think it’s because of past experiences with the current executive because it was left in such disrepair, especially the bathrooms and stuff like that and there was no accountability in terms of that. So, I think he decided, you know what, they’re not up to their billing,” he said.
Meanwhile, one member of Roberts’ team and also a former executive member, Edson “Bedi” Joseph, said that during their discussions with the Matthew, it was highlighted that the current executive has not formally requested use of the venue.
“When we made the initial discussion with him, he indicated that the offer was up for this current administration too, but they never took the opportunity to come down and have a sit-down with him and the possibility of hammering out the terms and conditions,” he said.
The FA’s top tier was last played at the ARG during the 2019/20 domestic season with all competitions ending prematurely due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Since then, matches in the Antigua Premier League (APL) have been played at the FA’s Technical Center located on Sir Sydney Walling Highway.
