Fair Play: Who should sit in the next CFA board?
(This is my Fair Play column for Sun.Star Cebu on Feb. 9)
I HAVE no voice in the Cebu Football Association elections, and I don’t even have the right to vote, as voting is limited to FA members.But I have an idea who could be a right fit in the board.
He could even be the right CFA president.
And, like I wrote in a previous column—he’s not from the Don Bosco group, the Cebu Amateur Football Club group and he is certainly not a sitting member of the CFA board.
And, more importantly, he’s had thoughts of running for a position.
Back in 2008, and even a couple of weeks, ago, it was suggested that I should run for president but I told them Crazy is not my middle name and besides, as a columnist who sometimes writes reports about Cebu football, that’s not advisable.
But that doesn’t mean a columnist is disqualified from running for the CFA board, right? Especially one who fulfills the requirement—he is the voting member of a club of good standing, he is experienced in leading a sports group, and he is no stranger to football.
Is this an endorsement of sorts?
You could say that, but an endorsement is worth nothing if the guy you think should be in the CFA board is worthless.
“I’ve told him that, too. That he should run,” one of the players in the Cebu football scene told me a few days ago.
“Yes, he’s a good choice,” another told me.
“Perfect choice!” said fellow columnist John Pages, who teased me about running. (John, and he’d be shocked to know, is also being considered by a group to run for CFA president. It’s a long story.)
Who is he?
He’s Rico Navarro, the athletic director of the Sacred Heart School-Ateneo de Cebu and the driving force behind the Cebu Youth Basketball League.
And no, he’s not just a basketball guy.
For sure, he’s no savior and he’d be the first to admit, but I have a feeling that he’d be a good fit. (And yes, it’s the same “good feeling” when the present board took over in 2008).
He’s had the bad experience, too, when sudden changes in rules led to SHS-Ateneo getting defaulted in the Aboitiz Cup when they joined the Rifa Cup, a tournament they were allowed to join last year. And he didn’t react by pulling out his teams.
When this whole issue between CFA and CAFC erupted, about two years ago, I’ve had a lot of talk with Rico and I agree with most of his ideas. That’s why, if I could, I would vote for him.
But that’s just me.
What do you think?
Comments
By the way, are all 9 positions up for elections? I remember elying saying some terms have been changed to six years instead of four
With many friends and acquaintances on both groups (or is it 3 groups), it is actually refreshing to talk with them privately and just discuss pure football. Everyone has great ideas and intentions but we just could not go over this political and personal hump. And one thing I've learned from their opinions - one group could not do everything on their own. This is a child (CebuFootball in particular and PhilFootball in general) that we have here, and it takes an entire town to raise this child.
What I would like to see is for all clubs and teams to gain member in good standing status so that everyone will be eligible to be nominated, elected, and vote during the elections. I do hope that should there be a dramatic and complete change in leadership, the new board shall be prudent and wise enough to recognize what the previous board/s have done well and to continue those particular programs. There is no need to re-invent the wheel, just improve the tires or the road it travels on.
See! I told you he's got great ideas. That's also my wish bay, to see the current board's program continue. Give their province-wide grassroots program two more years, and we could have a province wide, LGU-supported tournament for the U12 and U14s.
The funny thing is that both sides has very similar plans on how to do or achieve things. Hide their faces under masks, let them talk about what they want to do and how they want to do it, and you will wonder why we have a conflict when everybody seems to be thinking the exact same thing.
Anhi ra ko kutob diri Bai Mike, kay murang gi-pugos ko nimo og post diri. Balik sa ko sa akong langub kay mang-laba, mag-plantsa, og mag-luto pa ko. BTW, I'm enjoying my retirement from age-groups football and simply supporting the activities of my club. The nominees for the elections will still be the official representatives of teams/clubs/schools, so that leaves everyone else out....
Rejected one comment by anonymous (No. N) for a disparaging remark on a guy whose name I brought up only in the comment section.
He didn't ask for it. Perhaps, if you'll use a real identity, I'll reconsider your comment.
Thanks
Can we keep religion out of this?