Three members of the Pinelands football fraternity were immortalised as a community poster bearing their images was unveiled Saturday evening, February 4.
Wayne Trent, Tony ‘Jahtone’ Harris and Antony Kippins were remembered for the contributions they made to the Pinelands area in a brief ceremony and unveiling Saturday evening at the Parkinson Resource Centre.
In attendance were Deputy Prime Minister and Parliamentary Representative for St Michael South East Santia Bradshaw, President of the Barbados Football Association (BFA) Randy Harris as well as relatives of the deceased and several members of the Pinelands community.
As they honoured the legendary footballers, Harris indicated that the three men were exemplary both on and off the field.
“These three individuals were perhaps the best-behaved young men playing football at the time,” he stated.
In his reflections, he remembered Kippins as a person who would always be happy and “skinning his mouth” while Trent was very reserved.
He praised the Pine for conceptualising the gesture in honour the late players and indicated that the BFA would be undertaking a similar exercise.
“We have just decided to put a mural of former players at the facility at Wildey so that we can honour all the people who made a contribution to the game in Barbados,” he said.
Harris reaffirmed the BFA’s commitment to the sport, stating: “We have employed two professional coaches to set up an academy for the clubs in Barbados and the vision of this is to produce players who we believe we can get out of Barbados using whatever connections we have so that these players can become self-sufficient in a talent and a skill that they possess.”
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Family members, alongside Deputy PM Bradshaw, took part in the unveiling after the brief ceremony. The large poster, bearing poster the names and likenesses of the legendary footballers, was erected to the left side of the pavilion, overlooking the expansive football field there.
Sonia Kippins, sister of Anthony Kippins, told Loop News: “I feel very good that I can see my brother’s memory still alive and he can still participate in the football matches that happen because he would be here to watch them.”
Kippins, affectionately known as ‘Kippy’ was a past Pinelands footballer who went on to play for Barbados, his sister stated.
It was a bittersweet moment as family members of the deceased ceased the opportunity to snap photos next to the paintings of their respective relatives on the poster, to commemorate the occasion.
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