The best shot was saved for last at the just concluded LIME Pelican Football Challenge.
And it wasn’t taken by any of the crack shooters in the tournament.
Minister of Sport Stephen Lashley hit the target in a short speech during the closing ceremony when he said that he was open to discussion about bringing the LIME Pelican Football Challenge and the David Thompson Memorial Constituency Councils Football Classic together.
Politicians are known for making lofty statements in such an environment to score points but his stance is worth consideration on several fronts.
Some form of streamlining or amalgamation may be necessary because in the past two years, and even more noticeably this year, scores of the same players competed in both tournaments.
Surely, this would have had an impact on the standard of play, given how each is structured.
For instance, the 48-hour stipulation prohibiting footballers from playing back-to-back games on consecutive days worked against the LIME Pelican Football Challenge because if players participated in the Thompson Classic on the Saturday, it ruled them out on the Sunday, a staple day for the LIME?Pelican.
The same thing happened when there were Wednesday games in the Thompson Classic to be followed by Thursday matches in the LIME?Pelican.
Squads weakened
There were times when some squads were weakened and this meant that they couldn’t give the fans value for their money.
Bajan footballers are very passionate about the sport and given the chance, they will play in multiple competitions simultaneously and that hasn’t changed, despite the advent of the two lucrative tournaments.
Organizers might have hoped to change this trend but it hasn’t worked.
I remember the first year of the Thompson Classic seemed to be a stage for most of the emerging players to showcase their talent and it was very successful. It caught the public’s imagination and we were happy that each tournament had its own identity.
This changed the following year en masse so we were back to normal. A merger of the two would therefore make a big difference in this regard and to the standard of play.
It would also be great for economic reasons, especially during a recessionary period like this one.
Some critics and neutral observers have reservations about Government spending taxpayers’ money on a football tournament when the economy is struggling. In addition, Mia Mottley, head of the LIME?Pelican, said there had been a $150 000 decrease in sponsorship.
Clearly, if the two hands can clap, the operational costs for each tournament would be less because they would share the financial burden equally.
More rewards
There’s also a good chance that the financial rewards could be increased and spread around a lot more than is now the case.
These things are possible because both competitions have their genesis in the same philosophical moorings: build community spirit and provide financial incentives for players and others.
Of course, the real big prize would be for the two entities to merge to facilitate a full fledged professional league that would provide a sustainable income for coaches, players and the like.
Minister Lashley wants Barbados to be in the World Cup by 2020 but, historically, the countries that are more likely to qualify for the finals are those with professional leagues or those with professionals playing in foreign competitions.
We can trace Jamaica and Trinidad and Tobago’s route to the World Cup to this.
Why, therefore, should there be any form of division or disagreement about a marriage if the organizers are on the same page?
That was just a rhetorical question because we know the answer is politics.
The Thompson Classic is the brainchild of the ruling Democratic Labour Party and the LIME Pelican is the product of the Barbados Labour Party.
Once we can neutralize big egos and put false pride and pettiness aside, it can work. There will be short-sighted hardliners in each camp who will fight against it and put pressure on the few visionaries who want to better football.
I understand the nature of adversarial politics but I think there has to be a bipartisan approach on some matters for the country to grow. Sport is one of those avenues where people from all walks of life and of different beliefs usually find a middle ground.
• Andi Thornhill is an experienced and award-winning sports journalist.