Additional safety measures have been put in place for matches of the Final Four said SKNFA President Anthony Johnson, who apologized, through the media, for the breach in security at the Warner Park Football Stadium.
Police have two persons in custody for the shooting injury of a spectator, who was shot in the knee with an air gun, when he was attacked on Saturday, 27th May, 2017, during the first game of the double-header match night.
The suspended match was played the following evening on Sunday, as was the second match of the Saturday night encounters.
Speaking to the media on Sunday night (28th May) Johnson, of the St. Kitts-Nevis Football Association (SKNFA) apologized for the security breach, before he reassured football fans and the country in general of improved safety at Warner Park.
Johnson said, “I want to apologize to our patrons, because it was a very unfortunate incident. I believe our patrons have been very supportive in spite of the incident, and that is demonstrated by the very large turnout here tonight.”
He said that security is of great importance to the SKNFA, and changes have been made for the remaining Final Four matches, and importantly, for all subsequent games.
SKNFA President Johnson said, “We at the SKNFA have invested quite a lot in security. We take the security of our patrons, our players, our officials, as our number one priority. Notwithstanding that, it was very unfortunate that there was a breach of the security protocol last evening.”
He continued, “We sat with the High Command of the St. Kitts-Nevis Police Force, and we discussed the incident. More importantly, we have ensured that certain additional and enhanced measures have been put in place in order to guarantee the safety of all our patrons.”
Johnson strongly believes that football plays a major positive role in the youth of the country.
He said, “Football is far too important a national event not to have safety and security of our patrons guaranteed, because if there is no football, it could only be worse, in terms of the crime situation here in St. Kitts and Nevis.”
He reassured, “We believe that going forward, there will be greater measures put in place to guarantee the safety of our patrons and our stakeholders in general.”
President Johnson had high praise for the spectators, the majority of whom, he said, stayed in the venue until the announcement was made to reschedule the games to Sunday.
Johnson said, “I think the patrons have been excellent. I was amazed last night that after the incident, the patrons stayed on. No-one wanted to move. It tells you that football has great attracting power, but we cannot rest on our laurels, and we at the St. Kitts-Nevis Football Association believe it is important to continue to guarantee the safety of our fans. Without the fans, there really is no football.”
