Row Erupts Over Kartong Football Field

The Kartong football field has now become the maincentre of dispute between the young people and the Balanta community of one of the country's vibrant coastal villages.

Located at the Western Region of the country, the community has recently witnessed a push and pull or disagreement on the ownership of a certain portion of the community's only football field.

According to our reporter,  who visited the scene and spoke to some individuals, the dispute came up when efforts to fence the fieldby the youths of the community were in progress. Based on his findings, he pointed outthat theBalanta community challenged the young people who were engaged in the fencing of the pitch and claiming that they are the owners of that part of the field therefore resulting to a bitter exchange of languages and even the picking of weapons against each other.

The bone of contention is thatthe Balanta community is saying that theyhave been leaving in the area for quite a long time and are the owners of the said land, while the youths of the community are of the belief that the property belongs to the Kartong Youths and Sports Committee. They say this has been the case for many decades and that it has hosted  all its sporting activities.         

The dispute has hampered the smooth running of the fencing process of the field and our reporter has confirmed that there is no  construction going on around the pitch.