As we showed you at the top of the news, the Football Federation of Belize will not allow Assistant Head Coach Charlie Slusher to leave with the team for the Gold Cup.
That decision and the attendant controversy has overshadowed the positive development of the day in relation to the team.
And that was the donation of $3,000 that the Belize Water Services Limited made to the FFB. There was a small handing over ceremony and 7News was there.
We found out that the company is proud to make the donation because of Michael Salazar, footballer extraordinaire and son of Mellissa Salazar, a Supervisor at BWSL.
The company executives explained today that the pride they feel for Michael is as if one of their own sons or nephews got selected to represent Belize:
Alvan Haynes - CEO, BWSL
"Football and BWS have been closely inter linked. We are suffering from financial constraints due to expansion, cost increases and so on and Mr. Brown, our PR Manager put in a special request to the board for approval to give some additional funds. When we heard that national football team and the federation were having problems trying to meet the targets in order to make this thing happen. From our point of view Belize is our country, Belize is part of the name of our company and we are committed to doing whatever we can to help the national team and so we are glad to be here to give this relatively small donation hoping that it will be one of several that will help to make things happen for the FFB and the national team."
Melissa Salazar - Representative, BWSL
"Michael is presently studying in the US, he has a four year scholarship and is a part of the football team in the USA when he called and told me 'Mom I want to come and try out for the national team' I was like 'Michael are you sure', he said 'Mom, I am always here, don't you want me to come', so I said 'okay Mike come and see what will happen and I am glad that he made it and I am very proud of him and hopefully I hope that they do something in the U.S"
Ruperto Vicente - President, FFB
"And I must say that this is not the only contribution that BWS has made to the national team and the football federation; they have provided us with plenty of water to wet the field when it was extremely dry, to maintain the football field so the boys can practice on it, so again that's a lot of water that was given to the federation."
The FFB reports that with all the donations so far, they have only been able to raise $260,000 – which is half of the 500 thousand dollars they had budgeted.
| 