AS a footballer, Clyde Best might have been one of the most talented this Island has ever produced. Over the past 40 years, as an ambassador for the game and the country, he might have been even more highly respected.

That doesn't mean that everything he says about the sport shouldn't be challenged.

But we should at least listen to what he has to say.

And if Bermuda Football Association feel the former West Ham star is guilty of bringing the game into disrepute following his recent comments about the standard of local refereeing and the manner in which the game is being administered, as they seem to be suggesting, they might want to hear him out before threatening disciplinary action.

One thing Best can never be challenged over is his undying passion for the game in which he's been immersed for his entire life. Even today, he still eats, lives and breathes football.

He cares, and in particular, he cares about the direction in which the sport is headed.

When he wrote in his Mid-Ocean News column: "The people at the BFA work for you (the clubs). You vote them in and you can vote them out," he was merely stating the obvious.

And it was his opinion, to which he's entitled, that "the game here has received a lot of money from Government and some things are not right.

"I am unhappy with some of the things going on in local football right now . . . and really urge all the clubs in Bermuda to pay attention to what is happening."

Unfortunately for his readers, Best didn't go into a great deal of specifics. Perhaps he should enlighten us in this or next week's column.

But for BFA president Larry Mussenden to respond by writing a long-winded letter to this newspaper, published in yesterday's edition, defending in detail his organisation's response to every allegation made by Best in effect what was no more than a short addition to his column, smacks of paranoia.

It might even suggest that he's taking a leaf out of Premier Ewart Brown's book, the PLP leader which he happens to serve.

Rather than investigating and discussing the problems which prompted Best's outburst, he seems more intent on silencing his critics.

Freedom of speech is a basic tenet of any democratic society. And the same should apply within a governing body of a sport whose executive are elected into office by their members.

Sadly that isn't always the way it happens. We've seen it both here — Bermuda Cricket Board have repeatedly attempted to muzzle their players — and it's not unusual for sporting bodies overseas to sanction those within the organisation who have the temerity to criticise.

But that doesn't make it right.

Those who know Best well will tell you that he's not prone to shooting from the lip. He continues to study the game carefully and tends to speaks out only when he feels he can make a difference.

That he's no more fearful of the BFA hierarchy than the tough-tackling centre-halves whom he came up against during his days playing in England's First Division — the equaivalent of today's Premiership — in the 1960s and 1970s, we should be all grateful.

Mussenden and his men might not agree with what he has to say, indeed they might even be supported by a number of clubs, but given what Best has done for football and for Bermuda over a number of years, rather than being threatened by disciplinary action he deserves a measure of respect.

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WHEN the 10th anniversary of the Partner-Re Women's 5K road race gets underway from the Botanical Gardens this Sunday morning, there are expected to be between 800 and 1,000 runners on the start line — that's more than the total field for the May 24 Marathon Derby or January's International 10K. And this race is for females only!

Why is it that this particular event has over the last decade proved so popular when during the average Bermuda road race, men outnumber women by roughly three to one?

And why is it if the same organisers attempted to put on a men-only event — for which they would likely be accused of gender discrimination — entry numbers would pale in comparison?

No doubt the fact that the PartnerRe event has over the years raised hundreds of thousands dollars for female-related charities and this year hopes to contribute to the Bermuda Cancer Health Centre's breast cancer detection equipment fund, has much to do with its success.

But that success also has something to do with superb organisation, some slick marketing and hard graft from an army of volunteers.

Race directors of Bermuda's other road races, take note.

- ADRIAN ROBSON