The discord between the semi-professional Belize Premier Football League and its governing body the Football Federation of Belize has been simmering for years - and things have finally boiled over. In a Release this morning, the Belize Premier Football League announced that it is breaking away from the Football Federation of Belize, football's governing body. In an extraordinary general assembly session on Saturday, the executive unanimously agreed to break off All relations with the Football Federation of Belize. While there have been issues for years, the straw, which broke the league's back, is the penalty issued against Kulture Yabra owner Andrew Papa Brown, who was fined 15 thousand dollars after a referee was attacked at the MCC grounds in April of this year. Now Brown will face only the lesser penalties imposed by the Semi-pro League. But today, the league's commissioner and his assistant came to our studios to say it's even bigger than Papa Brown:
Maito Perdomo:
Our league met, our owners met and because of all the previous disputes and fights back and forth with them, they decided that it's best for us to break away and run our own affairs until such time as the league or the FFB could get their house in order for a better administration of football. This is the first time any affiliate of the FFB is breaking away. This is the first time in the history of the sport that it is happening. So, it's not every time. However, there is even in Belize a court of law and you have methods of appeal. And if an appeal infringes some kind of law, then you know there is a lot of technicalities and people get away with it. However, in this situation he is contravening his own statutes and you are pointing it to them and there are not doing anything about it so what else can you do? If you are being treated unjustly and they are contravening their own statutes, we, we accepted what happened, we accepted Dr. Chimilio as the president after the election. We started to work with him, we were working very close and everything seemed to have been going good until this came out.
Alfonso Noble
What would be the implications of this with regards Belize's, the view of Belize's football internationally. Obviously FIFA is the one responsible for football overall and the implementing body in Belize is the FFB. You all fall under, well used to fall under FFB. What is Belize's football implications on the international arena?
Maito Perdomo
Well, well we are hoping that when FIFA gets all this information they could intervene and straighten up the house. That's all we are asking for.
Alfonso Noble
Do you think that house will be straightened?
Maito Perdomo
I think it is within FIFA's powers to do it if they want to do it. And I am expecting that that is what's going to happen. I don't want to see football divided.
Alfonso Noble
How will football run in Belize now that you all have virtually separated yourselves from the FFB?
Reynaldo Malik
We have made tentative arrangements with the very, the same refereeing body that we utilized for the past eleven years during the existence of the BPFL and its predecessors. We are holding meetings today, later on today and the rest of the week with referees from around the country. So far the indication has been that they will be working with the league and actually one of them has said to us that if the FFB is interested in allowing football to continue in Belize, the FFB will not stand in the way of the referees continuing to work with the league.
Alfonso Noble
What if they do?
Reynaldo Malik
Bottom line, it all comes down to money. The league pays. The FFB doesn't.
We today also sought comment from the Football Federation of Belize but we were informed that the executive is yet to meet to discuss the Premier league's bold decision, and as such, no comment could be issued.