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Belize’s athletes have continued to represent our country with pride on the regional and international stage, but questions remain about what more can be done to strengthen the nation’s sporting landscape. Today, Love News sat down with the President of the Belize Olympic and Commonwealth Games Association Allan Sharp to discuss the future of sports in Belize, the support athletes need, and the role every sector of society can play in helping them succeed. The President of the Belize Olympic and Commonwealth Games Association says the future of sports in Belize will depend on careful planning and a long-term commitment to athlete development. While Belize continues to produce talented athletes, he believes greater attention must now be placed on creating opportunities that allow them to grow and reach their full potential.
He says the conversation is no longer just about preparing athletes for the next competition, but about building a stronger foundation for sports across the country.
Allan Sharp, President, Belize Olympic and Commonwealth Association: “Well, I think everybody realizes that we need to professionalize sport. Almost every national federation is volunteer and everything about it is volunteer. We need to find ways and means of how to get that better done. Even before we get the resources to professionalize the sport or to get the folks paid, we have to get some trained. So our focus towards the end of this year or by latest early next year we’ll have sport administration courses going on both the basic and the advanced courses. Part of the strategic plan is to find these ways and avenues of how the corporate body of Belize and the private sector and the private individuals in Belize who want to move sport forward, who see the benefit of sport can find a confident way, a way that they feel confident the money is going to be used well. So we will be developing such ways and avenues for them to be able to donate and to get reports of how their finance is being used and the progress along those funding. That means if you fund you don’t just fund and you close your eye. You get a report of how it’s being used but also the development that’s happening if you’re helping with certain athletes we want to show you that those athletes are improving, that the funding is being used well, and there is a result that’s going to be coming with that investment.”
While the association continues to work toward that goal, he says it cannot do so alone. Greater collaboration, he explains, will be essential if Belize is to continue developing athletes and strengthening sports nationally. Sharp is now calling on the private sector, the wider community and all Belizeans to become more involved in supporting sports development, adding that everyone has a role to play in helping athletes achieve success.
Allan Sharp, President, Belize Olympic and Commonwealth Association: “Generally, what we would like to see is, and I’ll be very brave here, to give more value to sports, to respect sports. You know, per dollar invested there’s nothing like sports, to have a healthy nation, to have a healthy group of young people.”
Reporter: Why do you feel like sports isn’t prioritized in our country?
Allan Sharp, President, Belize Olympic and Commonwealth Association: “The culture. I think we have been raised from where we’ve been kids to prioritize everything but sports. The benefit of sports has never been taught at schools which is where we learn almost everything. Teachers spend more time with kids than parents. It’s not the teacher’s fault though, it’s just the overall culture. So from beginning at the Ministry of Education this has to start. It has to start in the Ministry of Health. I mean after all sports can really help health. It can really help in, also Ministry of Education sports can really, really help them. I’ll give you two major benefits. One, the mental health for kids to adult is super important. Again, there’s hardly anything like sports to help you with mental health. The other one is at the moment more than ever we have athletes going out on scholarship. But we have to work together to prioritize, to understand you have some athletes who are very good and they now you don’t get scholarship if you don’t have good grades and that’s one of the things I would like those that be in the Ministry of Education to understand. So they have to get good grades but you can use sport as the apple or whatever you want to call it to let these athletes do what they have to do.”
The association’s president also believes one of the biggest obstacles facing sports in Belize is that it has yet to become a true national priority. He says changing that mindset will be critical if the country hopes to create lasting progress and provide athletes with the support they deserve.
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