 Prime Minister of St. Lucia and member for Castries East, executive members of the Marsha Football League, staff of the office of the Prime Minister, good morning and welcome to this handover ceremony for the Marsha Football League, who will be participating in the semi-professional league in St. Lucia beginning Sunday 10th March. Admittedly, I don't know if there's some sort of, bias hair, but our first march will be on Sunday at 2 p.m. at the Mindo Phillip Park between Marsha and Babano. I would now like to call on the first chair, Mr. Marlon Desi, to offer some remarks on behalf of the Marsha Football League. Good morning, Honourable Prime Minister, members of the Marsha Executive and Technical Committee Marsha Football League. On behalf of the players and extension of the community, I'd like to extend my gratitude and appreciation, the Prime Minister, for assisting us with this, with the boots and the uniform for the upcoming professional league. It will go a long way in ensuring that our team progress in the competition and hopefully next year we'll be in the top tier where we'll try to achieve greater things. And so on behalf of the team, the Technical Committee, the players and Adlergy community, so I'd like to thank you for your generous donation towards the team and the community at large. Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Desi. And I know that the semi-professional football league is one of Prime Minister's babies, amongst others, the UC economy being another. And knowing that Marsha and Cassie's has produced many footballers, I remember my younger girl days of it, growing up in Marsha. I'm going to see many football games. So I really hope that this league inspires many more young people to take opportunities for not just recreation, but for football, for sports, as a business, as a career. I would now like to call on Prime Minister Honourable Philip J. Pierre, Representative for Cassie's East to give some remarks. Prime Minister. Thank you very much, Monday. Good morning, everyone. Morning, members of the Marsha Football League. First of all, let me say to all the women of Senusha, Happy International Women's Day, I hope I have the right colours, so my pupil is correct. What's happened this morning is symbolic. Not in terms of the contribution or the donation or what we are giving the Marsha Football League, but in terms of a philosophical advancement as to where sports should be in this country. The semi-professional league is the first of its kind in Senusha. And what it seeks to do is it seeks to create a livelihood for footballers in the first instance. What do I mean? I mean that footballers at some point are going to get paid for paying football. This is revolutionary. It's the first time in the history of Senusha that that is happening. It is a signal that the government and hopefully the sponsors have confidence in the young people of Senusha, have confidence in the discipline of the young people of Senusha. What can that do? We can create a whole industry in sports. Sports is an industry and there will be cynics that will tell you it will not work. There will be cynics that will tell you it's politics. There are cynics that will tell you many things. But the question is, just think of a community like Cassius East. Think of a community, just think of it. Let's just imagine and dream. Because life starts with a dream when Julian Alfred was going to school and he was being coached by Twatine. She never knew she might have been where she used to be and we never know she may be Senusha's first gold medalist in the Olympics. So let's dream. And we mustn't allow cynics and critics and envious people to spoil our dreams. We have to dream. Let's dream about semi-professional football. Let's just dream about it. We start. We start small. We have two tears. Marsha is in the second tier. She'll get to the first tier. Then they start playing for some money. Just think about a scout or scouts from somewhere in the world. Picking up one player, this one. And I'm sure there's a talent for that in Senusha generally. Picking up one player and taking this player, taking that guy through and he gets to play Premier League football in the UK, in England. Think about it. Just think about it. Just think about two or three players. Football is an international sport. We have the talent here. Think about the industry that can be developed through football. Think about the coaches. Think about the psychologists. Think about the people who deal in the massages. Just think about the industry that can drive. Think about the people who are going to sell in sports equipment. I want to congratulate Ari here for his contribution, his involvement. And one as a government, the government has removed that on sporting equipment to create, to encourage further. Hopefully we're going to reduce the price of football equipment or sports equipment to be reduced by removal of that. Just let's think. Let's think about the glass being half full instead of being half empty. I can tell you that can be the beginning of greatest things to come for Senusha and by extension for Marsha, for the communities and by extension for Senusha. So what you're doing here is basically symbolic. It's not because we believe that we want to get publicity, but you want to reach out to the young people in Cassie's East and the young people in Senusha generally. Let us talk this attitude about you from the ghetto and your mentality must be ghetto-ish. The ghetto is in your mind. That's where the ghetto is, in your mind. Life was never easy. It would be tougher for some people. The government's job is trying to make it easier for most people and for all people if they can. Think about the football stars who were brought up in slums of Brazil and Mexico. Think about them. I can't mention them. They all never can mention the names I want. Those who are brought up in the slums of Africa was of, and I can say it without any fear or favor, was of any place in Senusha, was of. Look at where they are today. If they had sought about the ghetto and the system and them fellows and been encouraged by envious people, people were selfish to have that mentality. I don't want to mention their names. Look at where they are today. World stars, global stars. They started in a little town in Africa, in Brazil, in Mexico, in Ecuador, in that's where they came from. And look at them today. So I want the sportsmen and women in Cassus East and in Senusha January to think like that. Not everyone is going to achieve it. Everyone can't achieve it. But some of you can. And I'm very happy with these gentlemen here who are taking the time off to work and mentor with these people, these young men. Them theirs is a labor of love. Because it's not easy because you're fighting many, you're fighting many battles. You're fighting many battles. You're fighting battles with gang leaders. You're fighting battles with people who think they're influencers, who think they're influencers. You're fighting the people who are political. You're fighting of all kinds of things. You're fighting the selfish people. But what you need to do is I need you to focus. As a parliament ship and as a prime minister in Senusha, my position has been clear. Politics and sports do not mix. And I have never, I will never use politics for my political grandestment. And I've represented that constituency since 1997. I've represented that constituency. And no one can testify to me ever asking them to do things for me to get votes. I get my votes otherwise. So I just want to encourage you. I want to encourage you to march and football. I want to tell you, let's keep our eye on the price. Let's forget the division and diversions. This is just to put us off. The divisions and the diversions and the fighting for toughness is to be focused. Our focus is for the whole, not for the individual. There is absolutely no perfect human being. Don't look for perfection. There's no perfect human being. You can't find a perfect human anywhere in the world. Why are we looking for perfection? Just be focused. I want to congratulate you. I want to tell you that today we are assisting. But anything that I can do within my capabilities, because the prime minister doesn't own the treasury, within my capabilities, I will do. The government has started. We've removed the vats. We've funded the semi-professionally. We are going to be preparing, I want to tell you today, that we are going to be repairing the Martian grounds. We are going to be repairing the Martian grounds. That should finish by the end of this year. But I'm warning. I am warning. Vandalism will not be tolerated. We spent about a million dollars on the Martian grounds already. You cannot see it if you look for it. The fence was damaged. The toilet facilities were vandalized. A million dollars we spent already on the Martian grounds. This time we're going to probably spend a little more than that because you're going to be redoing the stands. But I'm putting the people, and not the players, the selfish people who vandalize that the police will be asked to take whatever measures they can take to stop this vandalism. We cannot tolerate vandalism when government spends taxpayers' resources to be repaired. They do me nothing. When you destroy government facilities, you don't learn to me. I pay my taxes like anybody else. It's not me. It's not about me. Damaging the sports infrastructure in this country. When you mash up the fence and you mash up the roof and things, you do me nothing. I don't play any football and sports again. It's not me. You don't do me anything. What you do is you selfish and you cause, first of all, your community to have a bad name. And secondly, you deprive people of using these facilities. And then as we go to look for sponsorship, I want to implore and beg the players to be disciplined, to behave like people who appreciate sponsorship. Not from politicians, but from the people who are assisting. Show some level of discipline and understanding. So thank you very much and thank you very much for the martial football league. You guys are unsung heroes that make a sacrifice. I know it can be easy. I've been around for a long time. I know what you go through. I know to get these guys together in any shape, form, or manner. And to tell them that this and that. And it cannot be easy. And you're not getting compensated. But do it for the value of your country and your body. So I want to thank you. I want to be sure the best. On Sunday, I will not be there to watch the first match for the lunch. In fact, I was expecting to speak at the lunch, so I gave my speech here. So I want to also tell you that the Minister of Sports is very, very, very excited about it. More has happened to sports for Saint Lucia in the last two or three years than happened for a long time. There's going to be a process of going to be repairing playing fields. We've done a playing field in Miku. Hopefully, as soon as St. Jude is constructed, we're going to be competing in the National Stadium in Feoffort. I'm going to repair it. We're doing work in the Mindefield Park. I told you about working on the Marshall grounds. We're doing work on the Darren Sammy grounds. We're doing work on Rosalie playing field. So we're going to be constantly improving the facilities in this country. Saint Lucia has been doing pretty well in sports. We're going to be building the National Aquatic Center. That's construction will start soon. So our sports game is doing well. So thank you very much, and I wish you all the best. Thanks. Thank you.