On Friday, September 5, the deliberation room of the Hôtel de la Collectivité hosted a tense meeting. At the call of young athletes and association leaders, around thirty participants directly challenged President Louis Mussington and the elected officials in charge of sport on the state of the territory's sports infrastructureEight years after Irma, many are denouncing a lack of action that is jeopardizing sporting activities and the future of young people.
Young people angry about degraded land
From the outset, the young people's words set the tone. "For eight years we've been waiting for infrastructure worthy of the name, up to standards enough to work properly," said Yannick, a Junior Stars player. Another football player made a harsh observation: "No toilets, no security, women's football is developing and girls have to change in carsWith the few resources we have, we try, but we cannot compete. To be excellent, you must have something excellent.His words, fueled by concrete examples, such as relocated matches, broken promises and the absence of changing rooms, found a wide echo in the room.
Other speakers, educators or residents of the affected neighborhoods, emphasized the “suffering” of seeing young people left to their own devices. “Nature abhors a vacuum, and If the grounds remain impassable, it is the streets that take in the children", warned Franck, a football presenter for twenty years.
A president who calls for patience
Faced with these criticisms, the president Louis mussington first expressed his understanding: “I am aware of the difficulties and shortcomings. Young mothers tell me that their daughters have to change in cars, and it bothers me”. But he wanted to qualify this: “To say that we don’t know the reality is not fair. I have visited all the stadiums in the territory, I know the situation. We have committed funds for Quartier d’Orléans, Marigot and Sandy Ground. I am fighting with the technical services. But let's be clear: there will be no miracle.“Building a certified stadium doesn’t happen overnight.”
The President recalled several ongoing projects: rehabilitation of the Sandy Ground basketball court (inauguration imminent), operations planned in Concordia, Cul-de-Sac and Grand-Case. He also mentioned the CEES device and agreements with the RSMA as levers to support young athletes. “My wish is for the entire island to be equipped with modern facilities. We share the same dream,” he insisted. But what young athletes want is for this dream to finally become reality.
Projects underway but deadlines extended
By his side, Marc Ménard, President of the Sports Commission, played the transparency card.I am the originator of this meeting. because we had to hear your grievances. When we arrived in 2022, the Marigot stadium project was poorly designedI preferred to stop everything rather than deliver non-standard equipment. But that extended the deadlines. Today, I no longer go to stadiums like before because I am ashamed.”
However, he detailed the agenda: work on the Vanterpool stadium will start at the end of 2025 (no exact date has been set according to the technical agent), approved except for seniors, with a synthetic lawn exclusively dedicated to football, modern changing rooms and lighting, for a delivery expected mid-2026"This project has gone from €2,5 million to €4 million because it has been completely redesigned," he said. The Orléans district will follow, but not before the Marigot district is completed.
The discussions sometimes took a tense turn, with some denouncing “eight years of talk without results.” Temporary solutions, such as the installation of mobile toilets or removable bleachers in the Quartier d'Orléans, were proposed by the young people. Ménard expressed reservations about this: “The risk is that the temporary will become permanent.” This option requires compliance with a certain number of rules and administrative procedures.
Between urgency and promises, trust to regain
The testimony of one educator recalled the depth of the malaise: “Today, all disciplines are blocked. Children who started sports at the age of four find themselves at thirteen on the same degraded fields. They get injured. The frustration is immense.”
The elected officials present, including the 3rd Vice-President of the Collectivity Dominique Démocrite Louisy, attempted to explain the administrative burdens“Designing a project, putting out a tender, passing the legality check, notifying the company… all of this takes time,” explained Mussington. “It’s not that there’s no will. We’re keen to honour all grant applications and encourage sporting development.”
The meeting concluded with a shared observation : the urgency is there, but structural solutions will still take several years. Elected officials have committed to improving communication, keeping neighborhood associations and councils informed, and organize new regular meetings. For young people, impatience remains. “We don't want to wait any longer,” summed up one player. For elected officials, the battle will be to regain lost confidence by finally transforming announcements into concrete achievements, and by taking all sports disciplines into account. _Vx
Source: Faxinfo https://faxinfo.fr/en/infrastructures-sportives-la-jeunesse-interpelle-la-collectivite/
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