Thirty-five upcoming junior and senior football players in Anguilla will be getting an opportunity to spend seventeen days in Germany to witness the FIFA World Cup 2006 matches.

From Anguilla with love

This is being arranged by Bernhard Mosandl, Sports and Tourism Director in Bad Neustadt, Bavaria, and Andreas Lampert, Project Manager with a sporting organisation there, in association with the International Federation of Football Associations.

The announcement was made last weekend at a press briefing attended by Minister of Sport, Evans Rogers, Director of Sports, Alkins Rogers, Director of Tourism, Amelia Vanterpool-Kubisch, Janine Edwards, of Sunset Homes, (sponsor of the junior Roaring Lions Football Team), President of the Anguilla Football Association, Raymond Guishard, other executive members and footballers.
Mr. Mosandl said he conceived the idea of sponsoring a trip after learning that many German cities wanted to be base camps for the thirty-two national teams from various parts of the world which have qualified for the FIFA World Cup 2006 there. He was particularly interested in the smaller nations whose national players were training for world cup matches but were not getting opportunities to see the games.

According to Mr. Mosandl, his idea is that such persons should be able “to feel the atmosphere during a FIFA World Cup match.” His offer was made to a number of countries and Anguilla, though having the lowest-ranking team, was the first of seven to express an interest and its delegation was accepted for the trip.

During their seventeen-day stay, the 35-member Anguilla delegation will be accommodated in a four-star hotel in Germany fully paid for, with opportunities to visit the base camps of the FIFA teams located close to the city of Bavaria. It will be arranged for the Anguillian players to engage in some training sessions as well as in a few matches. Mr. Mosandl said the trip was an expensive undertaken but he had been able to get sponsorship from a number of sources. Among them are the city and district parliaments in Bavaria, the Tourism Authority and the hotel owner who “agreed to support the great idea.”

A hand shake from Minister Evans Rogers

Mr. Rogers, Anguilla’s Minister of Sport, expressed delight with the invitation extended to the national team, although he said it was considered to be in the lowest rank among the other FIFA national teams. He stated that it was an opportunity for the Anguillian footballers to improve their performance and status after looking at some of the world cup games and having an opportunity to play in Germany. He added that the coming trip showed that there were opportunities for development available for local players and that it would be a rewarding experience for them.

Mr. Guishard was grateful for the offer, saying it would be of considerable assistance to the development of local footballers and was an opportunity he had readily seized. He spoke about the continuing efforts to make football the number one sporting activity on the island and about plans for the building of a stadium by early next year, when a German team might be invited to participate in the local matches.
Other statements of appreciation were expressed by Sports Director, Alkins Rogers, and Alison Hughes, an executive member of the Anguilla Football Association.
During the meeting, there was an exchange of gifts. Mr. Mosandl presented two original FIFA footballs to the local Association’s executive and players and Mr. Guishard gave him an Anguillian flag, a local football player’s track suit and other items for display during the delegation’s trip to Germany.

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