'Show us where the money went'

FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 23: Did the Bermudian public get their money’s worth for the $20m plowed into football and cricket?

“The jury is still out,” according to Sports Minister Glenn Blakeney, who launched an inquiry yesterday into how the unprecedented cash investment into the island’s national sports was spent.

Football legend Clyde Best is among a panel of experts who will examine where the money went.

The results of the Commission of Inquiry — which has eight weeks to investigate and report its findings — will help determine whether conditions should be attached to future grants.

Interviews

The board will also look at whether a greater focus should have been put on addressing anti-social behaviour in the clubs and community at large.

Both the Bermuda Football Association (BFA) and the Bermuda Cricket Board (BCB) have already spelled out how they spent the money in quarterly reports and financial statements.

But Mr Blakeney said the commission would go “beneath the surface” to determine if the priorities were correct.

They will have the power to interview anyone — from ordinary fans to top executives on the boards’ governing bodies.

Government had originally pledged $15m in special grant funding to football and $11m to cricket. Budget cuts meant those promises were scaled back in recent years and to date, the BFA has received $9.25m and the BCB $10.1m.

The performance of the national cricket team in particular has attracted widespread public criticism, with Bermuda dropping from the World Cup qualifiers of 2007 to Division Three of the World Cricket League this year.

Citing criticism from England legend Geoffrey Boycott, Mr Blakeney said there was international as well as local concern over Bermuda’s performance on the world stage.

But he said success or failure could not be determined purely by results in the win-loss column.

And he insisted the inquiry was not meant to be a witch hunt. “This is a platform for the good, bad and indifferent. There may be some grey areas that we collectively decide how to deal with but if there is something for the BCB or the BFA to brag about then I expect them to do so.

“It’s not all doom and gloom. There have been significant success stories.”

But he expressed concern about continuing anti-social behaviour, which has included players harassing officials and spectators smoking drugs. He said this was turning some families off.

He said the investigative team — which includes chairman William Madeiros, former BFA president Donald Dane, National Sports Centre chairman Sean Tucker, Charles Marshall, Jeffrey Richardson and Sheila Brown — may also talk to athletes who have dropped out.

“We’ve had a few athletes that have been quite analytical in their critique as to why they have chosen to withdraw their commitment at both club and national level,” he said.

St David’s all-rounder Lionel Cann, a former Cup Match captain, recently said he was quitting the club because of players smoking marijuana in the dressing room.

Challenges

Mr Blakeney added: “Because of the wide ambit, the board will be able to do a thorough job and get to the bottom of some of the things that plague us with regard to sport and to what those challenges are and how we address them going forward.”

Government is to examine the report and decide “what may have, could have, should have been done differently”.

The minister insisted Government was right to invest in both sports but said they may not have been clear enough in establishing priorities.

“When you make a substantial commitment of public funds in anything that involves such a significant number of young people that is a good investment. Could it have been done better, should it have been done better? 20-20 hindsight is great.

“It was well intended and it was certainly warranted when you think about the numbers involved in those two sports.”