By Neto Baptiste
The Technical Director for the Antigua and Barbuda Football Association (ABFA), Sowerby Gomes, is denying claims that members of the national under-15 girls team who competed in the recent Concacaf U15 Girls Championship in Trinidad, were relocated to an “unkempt hotel, 10 minutes away from a gang zone” following the end of the tournament on August 10.
Gomes was responding to a widely circulated letter, reportedly written by a concerned parent whose daughter travelled with the team to Trinidad, accusing the FA of removing the girls from the Hilton Hotel to another that was “10 mins away from a gang zone”.
“Not only is the hotel in a secure location but it is right next door to the airport and if you know Trinidad, there are no gangs facilities that are even close to that particular hotel. There might be an individual situation in a particular room where the girls stayed and on the particular floor they were staying in, but that situation was quickly remedied and the girls are down in Trinidad and are having fun in spite of the situation,” he said.
According to the concerned parent, she was informed that there were smelly rooms with stained sheets and “no visible security” at the new location. She expressed further concerns that her daughter may soon run out of clean clothing as they were told to pack light for the trip.
Gomes described the letter as “malicious” adding that word from the camp in Trinidad is that all is well.
“I knew what we were doing and I knew what was happening on the ground, so by the time I saw the letter, I knew the state of mind of our players and coaching staff in terms of them being in a very good state of mind. We were getting constant updates as to how they were doing; they were having fun where they were at and everything that was stated in the letter certainly seemed to be on a malicious side,” the official said.
The former national defender said the authorities are working hard to bring the team home at the earliest possible time.
“They would have been in Antigua now had it not been for the storm. Caribbean Airlines had to cancel quite a number of their flights and our airport was closed up until 3 o’clock Tuesday afternoon. Now, the airports are opening and everything is coming to a normal situation [and] Caribbean Airlines are doing their best to move all the teams that are in Trinidad to their respective home countries, including Antigua,” Gomes said.
The young Benna Girls finished second in Group B with five points behind group winners, Trinidad and Tobago, who finished with seven points. After achieving two draws and one win, the Benna Girls were ranked seventh overall in their group and played against Curacao in the playoff where they secured third place with a 2-0 triumph over the opponents.
