MPs have approved the granting of a 50-year lease of land at Prospect in Devonshire for the new Bermuda Football Association headquarters.Government Estates Minister Michael Scott told the House of Assembly that the 0.71 acres known as Gym Field, which the BFA will acquire on a “peppercorn” lease for $1 every year, is to officially named the Clyde Best Centre of Excellence.As BFA President Larry Mussenden looked on, the Progressive Labour Party MP told the House that the strip of land by Frog Lane would become the site for training facilities as part of phase two of the BFA’s headquarters construction.Noting the BFA’s “enduring and cordial” partnership with the International Federation of Association Football, or FIFA, Mr Scott added that the BFA has FIFA funding of $1.3 million for the construction of the new facility.He added that the BFA has invited Parliament to hold a “Government versus Opposition” match at the facility, as a gesture of thanks.“There can be no doubt about the enormous contribution the BFA makes to the quality of life in Bermuda by its promotion of one of our national sports,” Mr Scott said, calling the support of the game a “social responsibility”.He pledged unwavering Government support for the BFA and for football, noting the wide variety of teams and groups that use the field at Prospect since the completion of its new playing surface.Shadow Estates Minister Cole Simons rose to voice the Oppositions “unreserved support” for the move — but noted “a few issues” with the lease.“The community needs to know that from a financial point of view, it will be very, very difficult for the BFA to continue to sustain itself without the support of Government,” he said.Government committed $15 million of support money to the BFA in 2007, he continued, of which around $11 million had been given out.Having viewed financial statements for the BFA over the last few years, Mr Simons said, he believed the group would run operating losses of about $1 to $2 million annually without Government’s help.“My question is, we have the commitment of FIFA for $1.3 million for phase two of the development of the Centre — when will that money be paid, how will it be paid, and will it be paid in instalments?”Of the 2007 pledge from Government, Mr Simons asked: “That commitment expires this year, 2012. Has Government made a commitment to make further commitments?”Unless the BFA continued receiving the same level of Government assistance, he said, “I believe this project will not be able to get off the ground.”Mr Simons said the One Bermuda Alliance wanted clarity on future support before “putting ink to paper”.Added the OBA MP: “I have learned that plans have been approved for the Clyde Best Centre of Excellence, and I found that quite strange. We have the cart before the horse.“How is it that today we are approving a lease and the development has been through planning and already been approved?”He also asked why FIFA wasn’t included on the lease, which was restricted to the BFA — and that if the BFA fell into difficulties, he said, “this is another contingency liability that Government will have on its book”.Mr Simons also questioned why “peppercorn” leases like Gym Field didn’t extend to a group like the Bermuda Equestrian Foundation, which pays $3,000 a year for its Vesey Street Field.Government MP for Southampton West Randy Horton rose to voice Government’s support for the game that “touches so many of our young men and woman, and a sport that I can say, had it not been for that sport, I would not be here today”.He added: “We are not going down the wrong road when we make this kind of decision. The fact that FIFA want into an agreement with the BFA and provided money — obviously FIFA must be pleased with what the BFA is doing with the money that they have been given.”Of Clyde Best, the Bermuda International and English First Division pioneer in the 1960s and 1970s, Mr Horton said: “I’ve played with him and I taught him. I was his coach before I played with him.”United Bermuda Party Leader Kim Swan also praised the BFA, observing: “Bermuda was probably in the top three, if not the number one of countries that moved up in the FIFA rankings through the last World Cup campaign. Bermuda moved up to 107.”Football “reaches down into the souls of countries”, he said.Echoing fiscal concerns, he said Government needed to ensure that the BFA had the money to do the job, Mr Swan said: “We should use the occasion of the peppercorn to entice, maybe at the right time, all those teams that are travelling at that particular time — we need to have a tournament.”OBA’s Trevor Moniz read through the lease and the licence to develop and noted numerous inconsistencies, typos and other unusual elements, such as both documents referencing UK bodies rather than their Bermudian counterparts.“Some of these are small issues, but others are less small,” Mr Moniz said.Planning Minister Marc Bean praised the gymnasium initiative and the BFA, calling the project “another step towards the social development within this country.”He particularly praised the decision to name the development after Bermudian football legend Clyde Best, saying the athlete had played a major role in tackling racism in the sport.PLP Backbencher Darius Tucker meanwhile noted that FIFA is providing financing for the project, criticising Mr Simons suggestion that the project will require financial assistance from Government.“We don’t want bad perceptions in the community and misinformation because we have enough of that out there right now,” Mr Tucker said. “We need to deal with the issues. The rhetoric we don’t need. We have enough of that in the public right now.”UBP’s Charlie Swan also praised the BFA, saying that for Bermuda’s small size it has accomplished a great deal, but said scrutiny has to be given to the details of the lease and licence to ensure the project comes to fruition.“I would hate to think a year or two down the road we find ourselves for whatever reason unable to continue because we didn’t take ten minutes making sure everything was right,” he said.Patrica Gordon Pamplin of the OBA expressed similar concerns and asked what would be done to remedy the issues broached by Mr Moniz, saying she wouldn’t want Bermuda to be embarrassed on a national stage because of a poorly written lease.PLP Backbencher Terry Lister said he was happy to join the chorus in praising the BFA for their accomplishments. Once completed, he noted that the development would allow the organisation to save money on rent, putting the BFA in a better financial position and allowing them to dedicate more money to their various programmes.“The most important think is that the young people will benefit,” Mr Lister said. “The work the BFA is doing is leading to great things.”Health Minister Zane DeSilva said that the Government should be praised rather than criticised for moving forward with planning while the lease was being developed, saying it was an excellent example of laying out a red carpet rather than red tape.“I am happy to say we have approval for this project, very happy indeed,” he said.He also responded to Mr Simon’s reference to the Bermuda Equestrian Foundation not having a peppercorn rent, saying that the group caters to a relatively small number compared to the 1,500 to 2,000 young people involved in BFA programmes annually.Premier Paula Cox said that sports can be a unifying and mobilising force for a country, noting the way Nelson Mandela used sports as a way to bring together post-apartheid South Africa.Closing the debate, Mr Scott thanked the House for their contributions, particularity Mr Moniz for his highlighting of many areas where small improvements and corrections can be made.Mr Scott said that the majority of points raised by Mr Moniz are minor, and should be addressed before the documents are debated by the Senate.