Dear Editor,
The organisers of the Banks Beer/GFA Cup football tournament must be commended for their effort, especially for the opportunity given to the youths of my community to participate at a higher level.
Kwakwani over the years has been sidelined by the Football and Basketball Sub-Associations, which according to their constitutions have responsibility for the sport in Region Ten.
As a community, we have a rich history of producing highly talented sportsmen and women. National football teams have used our community as a training camp and coaches have identified and made on-the-spot selections when they saw the talent of our players. Notable players were Dion Roberts, Claymont Saul and Gary Harper. It is a sad state of affairs because these talents are now only recognised when they are linked to clubs in Linden.
Testimony to this sidelining in football is the fact that despite so much talent, we only participated once in the long history of the Kashif & Shanghai tournaments. The participation was only possible after some senior functionaries got involved. To date, that organisation cannot say publicly what their criteria are for inviting clubs and communities like ours to participate.
The Banks Beer/GFA Cup can be seen as the new course that will give sidelined communities like Kwakwani that much needed opportunity to once again expose the suppressed talent within their youths.
The Kwakwani Strikers will definitely be the team to pay keen attention to as they are hungry for this new level that was made possible by the organisers.
Yours faithfully,
Jocelyn Morian
