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Steve Bucknor (left) and Winston Chung Fah. - file
Birthday boy Winston Chung Fah graciously pointed to Steve Bucknor, claiming he was more deserving. Bucknor jokingly urged Chung Fah to resume coaching in Jamaica so he could "finally beat him" in a game. The festive crowd in attendance to honour the two stalwarts of Jamaican football last Sunday embraced the friendly exchanges with laughter and applause.
Bucknor, a former FIFA referee/instructor and current coach in Jamaica, and Chung Fah, well known in local circles for, among other accomplishments, founding Santos Football Club and guiding one of the country's best schoolboy football teams at Clarendon College in the 1970s, were the main recipients at the 2011 All-Star Celebrity Soccer Match and Awards Ceremony at the Central Broward Regional Park.
"The truth is, to be recognised so far away from home is something special," said Bucknor, "Because you don't think about these things. But when others believe that you've done a good job over the years and say 'thank you', then I'm happy for that. It means that others are looking. But it wasn't Bucknor alone. There were other greats who were honoured."
According to Chung Fah, who celebrated his 72nd birthday on the weekend and showed up in a wheelchair as he battles various physical ailments, there are "many more people" in Jamaica's sporting arena - particularly football - deserving of recognition, but he too expressed appreciation for the award. Others were more generous with praises, some openly expressing disappointment that the former Jamaica technical director of football has not received his due in his homeland.
"What these people in Florida are doing should have been given to Chung Fah long, long, long ago in Jamaica, not abroad," said Lebert Halliman, a successful Jamaica youth coach mentored by Chung Fah who was honoured at last year's ceremony here.
Others present to receive awards included Patrick 'Jackie' Walters, coach of Jamaican national youth teams and currently at Glenmuir High; former Jamaica Football Federation President Tony James; Frank 'Bim' Williams, founder of Reno Football Club; former professional player Alvin James; Geneva Sinclair, a former Reggae Girl, currently serving as a referee in the United States; and former national captain Anthony 'Baddas' Corbett.
Reggae Boy Tyrone Marshall, who currently plays in North America's Major League Soccer (MLS) for the Colorado Rapids, was also honoured, along with US-based Argentine Dr Jose C Meeroff, a coach, administrator and former referee, Soccer Max/Soccer Locker and Limers United Soccer Club.
Meanwhile, special guests Dwayne de Rosario, Most Valuable Player of MLS 2011, and Jamaica's senior national coach Theodore Whitmore also received recognition. All the recipients expressed appreciation, although none said their involvement in football was sparked by hopes of collecting awards.
"We all love the game," said Williams, who currently resides in the US, of being recognised. "Nothing else but passion and love. That is the overriding principle in all of this (ceremony)."
His views were shared by others, including James, who is currently a candidate for president of the scandal-plagued Caribbean Football Union.
"It's a humbling experience," said James. "It's really fantastic."
"It's one of those things where you do well, and you accomplish over your career, it's great to be recognised," added Marshall. "It doesn't matter that you're young or you're old, once you play the ball and you do your thing on the pitch and you leave it all on the pitch and people recognise that, that's all you can do."
The event, organised by Clarendon Production and Pulz Entertainment, featured two football matches. DJs played again promoters in the opening match. A Clarendon All-Stars team faced off against Clarema United in the second game, which featured players like de Rosario, Whitmore, Marshall, national captain Shavar Thomas, and former national players such as Donovan Panton.
