WB Legends win, halfway house gets cash boost

By Cayman Sports Buzz
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Updated: 16 November 2016

East End (yellow) and West Bay (blue) Legends gather after the match.

A fun evening was had on the pitch by some of Cayman’s finest footballers of yesteryear Monday evening, 14 November when West Bay met East End in the Clash of the Legends series at Ed Bush Sports Complex. West Bay won comfortably but perhaps the biggest winner was the Hope Foundation, which received a cash donation presented by Sports Minister Osbourne Bodden before kickoff.

The Clash of the Legends is the brainchild of Brent Hydes, the founder of the Hope Foundation. The series brings together footballers over 40 years old from the various districts as part of efforts to highlight the work done by the foundation, which operates a halfway house in West Bay.

“Speaking to Brent and seeing the enthusiasm he had for what he was doing, I decided I would do my best to make an effort – although we didn’t have it budgeted – to see if we could find funds to re-allocate and make a donation to the Hope Foundation,” said Mr Bodden, who is also the minister responsible for Community Affairs.

Cabinet Ministers Osbourne Bodden and Tara Rivers present the cheque to Chris Burke of the Hope Foundation.

As such, he presented Chris Burke of the Hope Foundation with a $10,000 cheque from the Ministry of Community Affairs, Youth and Sports. Mr Bodden said his Cabinet colleague and West Bay MLA, Tara Rivers, also pushed him to see if the funds could be found.

Rankin was ever the showman before leaving at halftime.

“We’re happy that the government has approved this. I know the work that I’ve seen them doing. I’ve spoken to a lot of clients…and it’s all good and the Hope Foundation has a lot of good people behind it and I’m positive that the funds will be used to help our people, and everyone saved is a huge difference to our community,” the minister said.

Mr Burke said the donation was well-timed. “We’re constantly looking for support and to have something like this significant donation from government, it’s huge because it helps us not panic about day-to-day or week-to-week,” he said, noting that they feed up to nine recovering addicts, while covering the cost of electricity and some transportation for residents as they go in search of work.

After the donation, it was on to the match. West Bay came out ready for action, scoring early on when East End keeper Graham Rankin was caught away from the net. Another goal followed in the first half to give West Bay a 2-0 halftime lead. The hosts added three more in the second half as they appeared more match-fit than their counterparts. The final score: West Bay 5, East End 0.

The games are more about building community spirit than the score. A promised clash between Bodden Town and George Town was postponed and will be rescheduled.

A women’s game between West Bay and a combined team from George Town and Bodden Town was also rescheduled.