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An anomaly that must be corrected
By Edison Jefford
Christianburg/Wismar Secondary School (CWSS) football
team reached their sixth final Sunday night after an astonishing four titles, but is yet to have an opportunity to play the final at home in Linden, which is an anomaly that needs to be corrected.
The Digicel Schools’ Football tournament is indisputably the benchmark for junior development in Guyana. Coordinating logistics for some 160 schools across the country this year cannot be an easy assignment, but Digicel has been doing it for six years now.
Of those six years, CWSS has won four times, which ought to have given them an opportunity to host the final at least once in that illustrious history. However, the most successful team in the tournament’s history to-date has had to trek to the National Stadiumin Georgetown every year for the final.
In doing so, the journey from the hilly sand and clay region to the low coastal plains left behind a key component of the aura of football in any part of the world– ardent fans, many of whom opted to remain in the Mining Town as opposed to travelling to the City.
Only a few supporters from Linden would make the 75 km journey to the Stadium, ensuring that whoever is the CWSS opposition outnumbers them with support; this year it was the indomitable Chase Academic Foundation, which obviously had majority support at the Stadium – a fact made clear when Job Caesar scored the eventual winning goal.
The support base for the Georgetown-based Chase Academic Foundation erupted into frenzy following that lone goal in the 24th minute, sensing that there will be no extension of CWSS legacy. CWSS has always competed against such disadvantage with great success in the past.
The Christianburg/Wismar Secondary School has nothing to be ashamed of this year; they got back to the final for the sixth straight time with 90 percent of their experienced players out of the schools’ system.
The young CWSS team got the school back to the final against Chase, which boasts 6-7 national junior players, who recently competed in the Caribbean Football Union (CFU) World Cup Qualifiers. This underscores CWSS fortitude and its excellent programme.
Chase won 1-0, but one wonders what could have been if CWSS had the sea of yellow and black to support them at the Mackenzie Sports Club (MSC) Ground, for example. The school, based on the western side of the Demerara River that runs through Linden, though its outstanding history in the tournament, has never hosted the final.
The argument has to be one that suggests an absence of appropriate facility. But that argument is one that will not stand up to scrutiny if for instance the proposition offers the contextual history of all that the MSC Ground has hosted.
The grandeur Kashif and Shanghai Football tournament survived 20 years at the MSC Ground before moving to the National Stadium, albeit to its own detriment. The facility has hosted other mega sport events.
This is not to say that the Coordinators of the Digicel tournament had given other communities the right to host the final. They have not. The final is centralised at National Stadium maybe to create a neutral and balanced playfield.
But the overarching point here would be the continued success of athletes, and sport teams, from Linden that continues to underscore the need for a sports facility that would eliminate any doubt in the minds of Coordinators as to where should host.
Whether it is CWSS football team or CARIFTA long and triple jump silver medallist, Chantoba Bright, Linden’s athletes continue to perform against all odds. CWSS should remain resolutely in the framework of the top teams in the Digicel Schools’ Football tournament.
With the announcement that a sports facility is due in Linden, CWSS could extend its dominance in the championship with an entire community supporting them next year.
The school could win the ultimate battle, which is due consideration for them to host the final – a justifiable reward for being the most successful team of the tournament.
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