Hannibald remains steadfast amidst opposition

Chair of the Calliaqua Area Development Organisation (CADO) Foster Hannibald says he is committed to see sport and culture prosper in Calliaqua and its environs, despite calls for him to quit.{{more}}

Hannibald came under fire from one of the founding members of the organizing committee of the annual Calliaqua Football League, Patrick “Gray” Baptiste, last Friday.

Baptiste, in an interview with SEARCHLIGHT, suggested that persons in charge of the league should step aside.

“I think the people who [are] organising the league, they are tired, they need to step aside and let others take it up,” he siad.

Baptiste’s comments came after the 2012 league came to a sour end, as one of the teams in the finals, Brighton, failed to show up for the kicks from the penalty spot Friday against Prospect, which would have determined the winner.

Baptiste deemed the 2012 Calliaqua Football League as “the worst in 35 years”.

“As a founding member of the Calliaqua League, which started 35 years ago, I am disappointed in the situation at the present time,” Baptiste he.

“I am calling on the persons who are presently running the football league to call a meeting with interested persons and let us re-organise the football, because it is at its lowest ever,” Baptiste further said.

Hannibald, however, thinks differently.

“In any organisation you will have strengths and weaknesses, but this year, the tournament was well with the field being cut at least three times per week … The footballers could say this year, they had the best surface than ever before,” he told SEARCHLIGHT separately on Friday.

Hannibald stated that this year, more than any year, there were persons determined to see things go wrong.

“There were some spectators who just wanted to pull down rather than uphold the competition … In every community there will always be the detractors … The only thing they can do is criticise,” Hannibald proffered.

But Baptiste complained about the absence of fixtures, including calling the teams the previous night before to inform them of their matches the following day; poor officiating and a myriad of problems, which plagued the 2012 competition.

Hannibald said that there was always a fixture, but “fixtures are always subject to change”.

The CADO chair disclosed that they gave preference to the national club championship matches and at times accommodated teams participating in the Stubbs league as well, but, “we called the teams two days in advance of their matches”.

Hannibald boasted that despite the alleged orchestrated efforts to destabilise CADO, it remains the only organisation in SVG which is responsible for sports, area Carnival and others aspects of culture in its locale. (RT)