Government and the corporate community must do more for football - according to local chief Larry Mussenden.

The Bermuda Football Association president says:

There must be more partnerships between the BFA and the business sector;

Government needs to complete the National Sports Centre and attendant facilities and;

The BFA should be able to use the centre free of cost.

Putting forward his case as he addressed the weekly meeting of the Hamilton Rotary Club yesterday, Mussenden called for a greater appreciation of football's contribution to Bermudian society.

The game, he said, was keeping youth away from illegal drugs and teaching them important life lessons such as discipline, commitment, team work, punctuality, determination and how to be successful.

“I call upon corporate bodies here to financially support the BFA because we contribute to the development of young people in Bermuda; because we have contributed to the lives of tens of thousands of people and their families over the years . . . because our footballers obtain university football scholarships that allow them to gain the educational qualifications to return to Bermuda and become a part of the workforce; because we contribute to the quality of life in Bermuda; because we contribute to a harmonious society and environment that attracts international companies to Bermuda, because we help set and maintain the foundation that Bermuda is built upon,” said Mussenden.

Lauding the many companies which have already assisted the BFA with sponsorship, he urged others to follow suit.

The football chief noted it would be “fantastic” if local football clubs could have $1 million injected into their programmes over the next five years.

However, he disclosed the BFA's efforts to build alliances with recently set-up companies on the Island had been spurned.

“I ask these companies ‘When it comes to social programmes and sports funding, where are you, because I can't see you and I can't hear you?'. Please, I invite you to make yourselves known on more than just the business pages.”

In relation to the National Sports Centre, Mussenden said the multi-purpose complex must be completed so sports organisations could have top-class training facilities and could host international competitions.

Echoing the sentiments of FIFA vice-president Austin (Jack) Warner, who visited the Island two weeks ago, he called for dormitories to be added to the Frog Lane site. This, he noted, would decrease costs significantly for staging international meets with visiting athletes being able to be housed on site.

Mussenden also urged rethinking on the policy of renting the Sport Centre.

“The trustees of the National Sports Centre need to revisit the fee structure and cease making national associations pay to use the centre for national events. In my view, that is the greatest insult to national football - to have to pay to use the National Sports Centre to train and to play.”

He criticised “the concept of having trustees of the National Sports Centre raise funds to pay for that Centre”.

That, he reasoned, “is not working as evidenced by the lack of funding for (the NSC's) completion”.