Boledo generates millions, But Garcia says Sports need bigger slice!

By Zoila Palma:  Lottery Board Chair Narda Garcia is calling for greater investment in Belizean sports, arguing that the millions generated through the national lottery could play a bigger role in developing athletes, sporting programs and communities.

Speaking at Belize’s first National Sports Summit, Garcia stressed that sports should be viewed as an investment rather than an expense.

“You see what’s happening yesterday and today here, that’s what we need for people to know the importance of sports, that it’s crosscutting, that it’s not an expense, it’s an investment,” Garcia said. She emphasized that investment in sports extends beyond athletics, affecting communities and contributing to national development.

Garcia also acknowledged the political nature of budget allocations, arguing that greater resources must be directed toward sports. “It’s political, the entire budget is political will exercise because what you do with a budget is you allocate your resources,” she said.

With Fi We Boledo projected to generate more than $144 million this year, Garcia urged sports leaders and stakeholders to push for a larger share of lottery revenues.

“We have to get more money for sports. Otherwise we will stay with same budget from 1996,” she said.

Garcia recalled that she had hoped the Sports Council would receive the full $2 million allocated for sports development. “I thought that 2 million would have done something for the sports council, so I was very happy that we could have gotten the good will of the politician to say ok, let’s start with something. Let’s give the sports council 2 million,” she said.

However, Garcia said only $400,000 ultimately remained available for the intended investment in capital, infrastructure and programs.

Looking ahead, she encouraged sports stakeholders to continue advocating for greater funding, saying, “I can assure you there is going to be more money but you have to ensure and agitate for more money.”

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