DESPITE the negative publicity about Saipan having “poor training facilities” as alleged by an Irish football player, the Marianas Visiting Authority still believes that hosting the World Cup Irish soccer team was “all worth it.”
“We did our best, and the only player who said that was the person who was dismissed from the team,” acting MVA Managing Director Vicky Benavente said in an interview with Variety.
Irish soccer team midfielder Roy Keane, 30, was sent home Friday after a row with manager Mick McCarthy.
The incident grabbed international media attention as Keane’s absence in the World Cup would affect Ireland’s chances in the tournament.
According to reports, McCarthy had to send Keane back to Ireland for his “disruptive influence” on the team.
The captain of the Manchester United team, Keane reportedly complained about many things—from the team setup to the poor training facilities on Saipan.
“Out of all the players, only one said that our training facility was not up to par, but others, including the coach and the Ireland Football Association officials, said that our training facility was better than they had expected,” Benavente said.
She said Saipan’s football field in Susupe was redesigned to meet international standards.
MVA spent $35,000 to expand the field for the Irish team.
MVA was informed by the team’s travel manager in Oct. 2001 that they were interested in a Saipan training site for the Irish players.
“I was told that Northern Marianas has everything they need except for that one thing, the soccer field, so I went to the board to ask if we could have the funding,” she said.
“That funding is small compared to the amount of exposure value we received. It’s just a tremendous amount of exposure,” Benavente said.
