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The CONCACAF 2014 Champion's League Tournament began 2 weeks ago, and if Belize's Belmopan Bandits were still in it, they would be getting ready for their first game tomorrow at the FFB Stadium in Belmopan. But as we all know, CONCACAF yanked the Bandits from the competition because the football pitch supposedly didn't meet the organization's standards.

We say "supposedly" because SB Nation – which is a US based sports website has posted this picture of the Providence Stadium in Guyana. That's the home field for Guyana's Alpha United, which is making its first appearance in the Champion's League, facing the Portland Timbers.

Seen here, Providence was built primarily as a cricket stadium. The article on SB Nation asks, quote, "if CONCACAF deemed the Guyana pitch okay, what did the Belize pitch have to be like to be deemed unacceptable? Clearly, grass isn't a requirement, so was there shards of glass on the pitch? Was there a sinkhole at midfield? Did tigers roam the penalty boxes?"

Of course, those are rhetorical questions – the FFB Field has its issues, but, visually at least, it wasn't as bad as all that!

But, the issues it did have could have been remedied. 7News has learned that the FFB had local consultants who were giving free advice on how to fix the field. Our news room has received copies of emails sent to the FFB executive by Tony Chanona, the local expert who they would have turned to, in order to get the field ready, if CONCACAF reconsidered their decision to boot Belize out of the tournament.

In an email dating back to July, Chanona wrote to the FFB explaining to them what would be the best equipment, the best soil, the best chemicals, and the most reasonable prices they could get it done for. Chanona also advised them that the pitch needed to be raised by 1 each, and that special top soil was needed to treat it properly, so that the grass can grow properly. Chanona offered his professional advice free of charge, and even offered to put his services at their disposal, simply for national pride and the love of the sport. All indications are that his recommendations were entertained, but ultimately went un-heeded.

When FFB President Ruperto Vicente had his press conference a week ago, he told the press that with Chanona's help, the Federation could have gotten the field ready in 5 days for a follow up inspection.

We've received a copy of Chanona's email, which suggest that this was an over-simplification of the task. He said that it would have taken, quote "a miracle" to get the field ready in time because it was far behind schedule.

In his email, he outlines how the FFB tried to get him to bail out everyone involved to put off a "Herculean" effort. In that press conference, President Vicente confidently stated to the nation that with Chanona's help, the field could be ready. Chanona himself was very skeptical in his email, saying that he wasn't sure that could pull it off in time. He also refused to give any guarantees for fear of destroying his reputation if the field was rushed and some international player got hurt while playing football at the FFB Stadium.

Chanona sums up the entire disqualification as "gross incompetence", and he notes that the Country and the football fans are the ones who are going to pay for it.

As we've told you, Belmopan Bandits are also losing out on an opportunity, and they've also wasted resources preparing for the Champion's League Tournament. Tomorrow, Costa Rica's Herediano FC takes their place as the wildcard holder plays against El Salvador's Isidro Metapán. Herediano will make its fourth appearance in the tournament because of Belize's disqualification.