WARNER

BRIDGETOWN, Barbados, CMC:

CARIBBEAN GOVERNMENTS have been chastised for their over-obsession with cricket while allowing football to suffer without providing much-needed funding.

Austin 'Jack' Warner, the Caribbean Football Union's (CFU) president, told CMC Sports that regional governments had neglected their responsibility to football but had proceeded with building multimillion-dollar stadia to invest in a 'dying sport'.

"Many of them (governments) also too are still locked in a time warp of colonialism where they believe that cricket is the answer," Warner said.

No apologies

"I make no apologies for saying to you that cricket, as presently organised, is a dying sport and cricket has to revitalise itself and certain things have to be done to save cricket and governments can't save cricket by building fancy stadia all over the place which they can't maintain and which they say of course that football can use. It is foolish."

Warner, also a FIFA vice-president, said while governments needed to avoid political interference in football associations, they had a responsibility to provide funding and training.

He accused them of shying away from this duty and expecting FIFA, the world governing body for football, to provide all the necessary support for national associations.