Youth Pro League ‘on a standstill’

THE 2020 edition of the Youth Pro League is “on a standstill”, according to acting chairman of the TT Pro League, Brent Sancho.

There have been queries during the past week about the status of this year’s competition, despite the easing of covid19 restrictions.

Sancho, in a telephone interview on Thursday, said, “The Board of Directors decided to put a standstill to the Youth Pro League, due to the recommendations of the CMO (Chief Medical Officer Dr Roshan Parasram).”

Commissioner of Police, Gary Griffith, mentioned in a Facebook post, on Wednesday, “There is no law preventing any young person from participating in a sport. All that is required is that extra-curricular activity and sport, must not have more than the stipulation of numbers established in the Public Health Ordinance Regulations.

“The CMO does not draft, approve or enforce laws. I have received absolutely no policy from any Government official to stop any young person from taking part in sport.”

Griffith continued, “In fact, as the (Commissioner), preventing or trying to persuade young people not to play sport after being boxed in their homes for months, is an avenue that can frustrate many young persons and hence their energies can very well be diverted in non-productive, if not criminal avenues, hence these continuous comments trying to prevent young people from playing sport, are indeed a liability from a TTPS (TT Police Service) perceptive, and does not help us in our role and function.”

Sancho, on Thursday, said, “I want to thank the Commissioner for his endeavours, for trying to bring some sort of clarity on the matter. He’s done a lot for us and he knocked a lot of doors.”

The former TT football team defender and Minister of Sport acknowledged, “(The Pro League) provided a comprehensive covid19 procedural document for all teams, for games and training, that we were willing to implement.”