Players to be quizzed on switch
SUMMER FOOTBALL in Guernsey won’t happen any time soon, but the island’s players are going to be given a say in whether it ever should.
That was the conclusion to Nick Leigh-Morgan’s radical presentation of why football in Guernsey should become a summer sport and as outside more games fell foul of the dreadful early-year weather, key figures in the game agree that football, as a sport, needs to do something to keep players in the game.
Among those present at the St Martin’s AC clubhouse to see Leigh-Morgan explain his proposals were Guernsey Football League management chairman Nick Graham, GFA chief executive Gary Roberts, Guernsey FC chairman Mark Le Tissier and Green Lions coach Tony Vance, plus representatives from most clubs.
Graham, whose body now oversees all island club football, said football had to listen because ‘the biggest threat to keeping people in the game is extended breaks which can dampen the enthusiasm’.
Le Tissier said football has to do something because the weather patterns were not going to change.
‘The situation we are in will continue forever unless you invest in putting drainage systems into club pitches or consider going down the warm weather route in some form.’
Graham praised Leigh-Morgan for his work.
‘It’s really good that Nick has put his thoughts out there and there was a mixed audience of people who see that it could work and those who couldn’t.
‘We need clubs to talk to their members and players and talk around the complexities.’
The meeting immediately sparked concerns from leading figures in summer sports, with former Guernsey and Jersey cricket captain Ward Jenner saying, via Twitter, ‘And what happens to cricket participation?’
The plan in detail in Wednesday's Guernsey Press.
