The Tribune

By RENALDO DORSETT

Sports Reporter

rdorsett@tribunemedia.net

THE Bahamas Football Association opened its historic beach soccer facility at Malcolm Park on Saturday, the first such venue to be created in the Caribbean.

To coincide with the brief opening ceremony, the BFA organised a friendly match with the men’s national team against the Jamaican national squad. Jamaica won 6-5.

Dr Daniel Johnson, Minister of Youth, Sports and Culture, officially opened the Malcolm Park Beach Soccer and Futsal Facility just before the game started at 3pm. 

On Friday, the Rotary Club of East Nassau and KPMG hosted 50 children from the Bilney Lane and Ranfurly Homes for Children at the venue, teaching youngsters the fundamentals of the sport and team building. On Saturday the club transported the same 50 to the facility so they could watch the match.

The new venue comes with the help of FIFA’s Goal Development Programme which aims to grow soccer in the Caribbean.

Gavin Christie, Rotarian and captain of the Bahamas beach soccer national team, said the BFA hopes the new site will give the Bahamas a better chance to qualify for the World Cup as opposed to the challenge of advancing in regular soccer on the grass surface.

“There is a good possibility that the Bahamas could compete at the highest level in beach soccer,” Mr Christie said. “So this is why we decided to go with the beach soccer facility and the Bahamas Football Association found that in order for it to work, we had to find the right location on the water and we have located that with the beautiful backdrop of Atlantis.”

Having played beach soccer since the 1990s, Christie said the sport was growing in the Bahamas with a national team competing regionally.

The team will be coached by Roberto Ceciliano, who has taken the team to two CONCACAF World Cup qualifiers.

In addition to Christie, the other members are Lesly St Fleur, Chris Davis, Valin Bodie, Gary Joseph, Mark Daniels, Ehren Hanna, Kyle Williams, Dominique Bannister, Dwayne Forbes, Julian Smith, Nesley Jean, Cameron Hepple and Torin Ferguson.