Play a football match at Skinner Park

This was the suggestion of Oropouche East Member of Parliament Roodal Moonilal yesterday, following responses to his claim that the San Fernando park could not be used for sporting events after being refurbished by the Urban Development Corporation of Trinidad and Tobago (UDeCOTT) earlier this year.

Speaking at a United National Congress (UNC) news conference yesterday, Moonilal said that the San Fernando business community has offered to sponsor a friendly match between St Benedict’s College and Presentation College at the park, should it be approved by the contractor.

“They are offering to pay small fees to the players and offering both schools a small donation for their building funds. We have sponsors for a St Benedict’s-Presentation match, a rematch for the final of South Zone but on one condition. We will sponsor this, but it has to be played in Skinner Park in San Fernando.”

“If you can tell us we can use Skinner Park to play a friendly match where the schools will benefit from a donation to their building funds, the players will get a small fee so there are incentives to play that match, we will play it at Skinner Park. I bet you Noel Garcia will indicate that they cannot play a secondary School match at Skinner Park,” he said.

Last Monday, Moonilal had called for a probe into the park, which was handed over to the San Fernando City Corporation in February of this year. He said that football matches could not be played at the venue despite the million-dollar revamp undertaken by the UDeCOTT.

UDeCOTT responds

In response to Moonilal, UDeCOTT chairman Noel Garcia had referred to his statement as reckless and outrageous, adding that the Corporation was willing to offer the MP maths lessons, “since he does not seem to be able to count”.

The UDeCOTT last week issued a statement refuting Moonilal’s allegations, stating that the redevelopment of Skinner Park had been done to internationally recognised specifications set by the International Football Association (IFA).

The minimum standard field for domestic games as set by the IFA’s board, it said, is 90m x 45m. The field at Skinner Park has dimensions of 90m x 50m—five metres more than the minimum required, said the UDeCOTT. And this dimension, it said, had always been the Park’s field size.

“The only change in the Field at Skinner Park that came with its refurbishment was the change in its directional orientation, to prevent direct sunlight in the eyes of goal-keepers—an improvement, which found great favour with stakeholder, the Trinidad and Tobago Football Association, during construction phase Stakeholder Meetings,” said the UDeCOTT.

Speaking yesterday, Moonilal said that he had not been the first to raise concerns on the Park’s field size. Referee Osmond Downer, president of the Trinidad and Tobago referee association, had stated that the field’s size had been reduced following the works done.

“Do you know they issue a statement to attack me? UDeCOTT issued a statement dated December 6, 2023. They quoted all the figures to say I was wrong, and the ground can host matches and cycling and track and field. Mr Downer himself in an article in the online newspaper said that they changed the field to smaller so today you cannot play adult football at Skinner Park,” he said.

Moonilal held up an alleged satellite image of the Park and said that its 18-yard box appeared to be ‘extremely close to its touchline’.

“The globally acclaimed footballers of this nation Dwight Yorke, Russell Latapy, many of them played football in Skinner Park in San Fernando. It is the Mecca of Intercol. Recently when there was a match between Presentation College and St Benedict’s in San Fernando, for what is called the South Zone Intercol Final, they had to go to Point Fortin to play that.”

First time in history we played the South Zone in Point Fortin, but it cannot play in Skinner Park which we had to pay $147 million for it to be redone. This is where we are. We have a solution to the problem; either you believe what the people are saying, or you believe UDeCOTT,” he added.

SOURCE: T&T Express