NASSAU, Bahamas — While the Bahamian government is aggressively pushing ahead with a national sports policy that is expected to position the island state as a leading destination for sports tourism, the Bahamas Football Association (BFA) is having its share of difficulties getting the ball moving forward.

President of the BFA, Anton Sealey, while expressing concerns with the overshadowed status of the game on the island, was equally optimistic that the popularity of Bahamas football will soar as part of an invigorated thrust of the government to invest more in sport.

“We have a very difficult task when it comes to football in The Bahamas as you know we are very close to the United States, so our athletes are driven by those sports that they think are a lot more glamorous and could provide them with a lot more opportunities,” he said.

“We have had a lot of professional athletes who have succeeded in other sports in the NBA, Major League Baseball for example, so that’s difficult to overcome and naturally they are going to emulate those athletes,” he explained.

With all the competing sporting disciplines, Sealey is determined to fight on to make football more attractive to the nation’s young and believes the Reggae Boyz-Tottenham friendly match slated for the newly-built Thomas A Robinson National Stadium on May 23 will provide some fillip for the sport.

“We are making strides as we have a number of kids in colleges, but we are getting there, though it’s a difficult road and as you know football is a working class sport, so a lot of the youngsters will gravitate to other sports, as we are blessed in this country to be economically okay. It’s a difficult job, but one we are not shirking away from and we continue to work at it,” ended Sealey.

In addition to the fascinating game for May, the CONCACAF Beach World Cup qualifiers will take place in Nassau from May 8 to 12.

The Bahamas has to its credit the prestige of hosting the first FIFA Congress in the Caribbean back in June 2009.

The Bahamas are currently ranked 176th in the world, while Jamaica are ranked 56th.