FIFA rep wants urgent help for BVI

A representative of the international governing body of association football, FIFA,  said the British Virgin Islands (BVI) looks ‘like after a war’ and should be assisted urgently in restoring football fields and the headquarters of the BVI Football Association (BVIFA).

FIFA’s African and Caribbean Regional Director Veron Monsengo-Omba made the comment after he visited the territory during a tour of countries battered by Hurricane Irma.

Before he stopped in the BVI, he visited Turks and Caicos Islands, as well as St Thomas and St John in the neighbouring US Virgin Islands.

According to the FIFA representative, the BVI is the worst damaged by far.

“FIFA has a mandate to get every boy and girl to kick a ball and here you just cannot! I have been sent by the FIFA president to see all the islands hit by the recent hurricanes, and this is my third stop. What I have seen here is horrible – just like after a war, and FIFA needs to urgently assist [BVI Football] Association to restore the headquarters and the fields.”

“The other islands have all been impacted, but have fields left to play on. Here, there is no fields to play, and FIFA will have to make this a priority, and they will act quickly to restore football here,” added the FIFA representative.

He will assess the damage and prepare reports for the president of FIFA, Gianni Infantino.

Monsengo-Omba also noted that, without the BVIFA having an office, football cannot be organized properly in the territory.