After his long held but often bitterly contested tenure - it should be a surprise to no one that yesterday incumbent Football Federation of Belize's President Dr. Bertie Chimilio was re-elected as President of the Football Federation of Belize in a landslide victory. The election was item one on the agenda of a congress of the FFB where Chimilio went head to head with Ruperto Vicente - a former football coach who now works fulltime for the Belize Semi-Professional Football League. There were eight directors eligible to vote and Chimilio got six of their votes. Ruperto Vicente only received two votes and those were from the Belize District branch of the FFB and a vote from the BPFL's representative. So what does this mean for football in Belize? Well Chimilio today told us it won't be business as usual. He says there'll be some changes.
Dr. Bertie Chimilio, Re-elected
"The football house had to remain afloat and that is what we did. We spent a lot of energies fighting off the government, fighting off the Sports Council people so all those problems I hope are behind us. There is a new mandate and when you have new mandate you just have to do what you got to do, now matter how radical it may be but it has to be done and it has to be done and it has to be done in the next four years.
Certainly people in the media and certain people who have special interests and once the special interests are not around, then things can move on and as far as I am concerned, the special interests are finding their way out, they are going slowing and those who remain love football at heart and want to see football develop.
It is not about me Keith. People are Chimilio, Chimilio, Chimilio but if the team doesn't want to work or doesn't know what to do or when to do it or allowed to do it then there is only so much one or two people can do."
Keith Swift,
But there is so much animosity and division within football. How can we fix that problem?
Dr. Bertie Chimilio,
"There was special interest, they did not succeed so I guess those who were supporting the special interests realize now that the only way to go is with this present administration. So there is no status quo here, we want to work, the work is there, and I not even a big shot of football, I am a servant of the game. So if anybody considers themselves big shot of football and tries to cause all this chaos, they are where they belong - out of the game."
Chimilio will be joined on the FFB executive board by Bernaldino Pech, David Jones, Trenton Miller, and John Moody. Chimilio has been FFB's President since 1997.
