The overkill

Too much of one thing is sometimes good for nothing.

This saying holds good for the over-abundance of football competitions that are taking place currently across St Vincent and the Grenadines.

There are no fewer than five community leagues taking place at this time, to go along with the firms and industrial competition and the national club championships, and more are to come on board soon.{{more}}

The executive of the St Vincent and the Grenadines Football Federation, mainly through its president Venold Coombs, promised to have more football being played, but as it stands, there is an overkill.

People seem saturated, hence the fervour is absent.

Whilst filling a cause, the executive of the SVGFF has also bitten off its nose to spite its face, as its own national club championship is suffering from the competition for the football public’s interest.

Not that the club championships’ woes have developed since the current executive has taken office, but they have been magnified since it came on the heels of a successful inter-community league competition, which brought with it relatively large crowds.

Unfortunately, the hangover effect has not occurred.

With the Victoria Park being the main venue for the premier division matches, supposedly the cream of the football stock, there has been little following and the matches at times are played in front of a sparsely populated venue.

Partly responsible for this is that most of the participating teams are mere orphans and have no specific geographical locale from which to draw their support.

So, what passes off for the national club championships, is just the hosting of competitions by the local football parent body, as it is not reflected in the manner in which it is administered, neither the public’s perception.

And, the organisers themselves are not helping the cause with their lethargic promotion, if any at all.

It is only, in the main, the live commentary carried by NICE Radio that most of the information from the matches played at Victoria Park is brought to the public.

Meanwhile, the results from the matches from the public relations arm of the SVGFF are few and far between.

The SVGFF’s website does not reflect that the national football body is hosting its premier competition either.

Also injuring the national club championships is the free-for-all, as all hell has broken loose, as it relates to the one club eligibility ruling.

This ruling seems to have gone on permanent recess, as players, including national players, are showing up hither, thither and yon, for whichever team wants to give them a sweat.

Blame cannot be laid squarely on the secretariat of the St Vincent and the Grenadines Football Federation, as they are limited in many respects in policing the movement of players.

Unfortunately, the leadership of teams and the administrators of the various leagues should themselves assist in this regard, but they are disingenuous in some instances and could care less about what happens.

No one gains from this sort of ill discipline, as neither the standard of the play, nor the general administration of the sport will be the better for it.

Granted the present impact, the SVGFF’s executive has a window to reignite the club championships, as the Victoria Park will be unavailable soon, which could be an opportune time for a re-look and recharge the energies and ensure that the remainder of the championship gets that much needed injection of life.

The executive’s pride is at stake, as well as the continuity of the sponsors, the National Lotteries Authority.

With the horse bolted already, the executive must look long and hard and ensure that the national club championship becomes the marquee competition, whilst restricting the number of other leagues which run concurrently.

Also for future championships, Victoria Park, despite its revenue earning capacity, should only be reserved for the most attractive matches, along quarter-finals, semi-finals and finals.

Teams should, by right, earn the privilege to play at the Victoria Park by virtue of their status and performance in the preliminary round of competition.

The leagues which co-exist with the national club championships should join forces with the national executive to host matches of the national competition, as they already have a community following.

Likewise, all efforts should continue to get the teams/clubs to emerge from the communities.