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Posted: Monday 29 May, 2017 at 4:15 PM

SKNFA apologises; reassures security at all games

Anthony Johnson
By: Jermine Abel, SKNVibes.com

    BASSETERRE, St. Kitts – PRESIDENT of the St. Kits-Nevis Football Association (SKNFA), Anthony Johnson has formally apologised to fans and the family of the young man who was shot during a football game on Saturday evening (May 23)  at the Warner Park Football Stadium. 

     

    Addressing reporters last evening (May 28) at Warner Park, Johnson explained that it was a breach of security which resulted in the incident occurring, and he has since assured that security has been beefed up.
     
    “I want to apologize to our patrons because it was a very unfortunate incident. Our patrons have been very supportive despite of the incident, and that is demonstrated by their very large turnout,” Johnson said.
     
    Some people were of the view that fans would not have returned to the Park after the shooting incident, but many of them had turned up for the rescheduled games and were not required to pay an entrance fee.
     
    President Johnson said that they have invested a lot in the area of security following a shooting incident last year in proximity of the venue that resulted in referees protesting and calling for improved security.
     
    Johnson stated that the Association takes the security of players, patrons and officials very seriously.
     
    “Notwithstanding that, it was very unfortunate that there was a breach of the security protocol last evening.
     
    “We have been advised by our security team as to the various points that are challenging. And tonight we have put additional measures in place to basically ensure that those points are not utilized by persons with criminal intent,” Johnson explained.
     
    The SKNFA boss disclosed that they had sat with the Police High Command and held discussions on the incident and, more importantly, they have drafted a plan for additional enhancement measures.
     
    According to the President, those new measures would guarantee the safety of all attending games in the future.
     
    To that end, he noted that football is far too important a national event “not to have safety and security of our patrons guaranteed”.

    “What we have done is to put in place certain measures that would certainly guarantee safety and security to our patrons, our officials, our players, and we believe that going forward there would be greater measures put in place to guarantee their safety.”
     
    Because the incident occurred during the first of a doubleheader evening, Johnson noted that the Association was not able to capitalize on those paying to come through the gates, which resulting in a loss of revenue.
     
    Against that backdrop, he said by having the games rescheduled last evening and not charging a fee, it was one way of giving back to the loyal fans.
     
    He noted that they had considered hosting the Championship series on the cricket side of Warner Park, but a final decision has not been made to date. 
     
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