Proclaiming that “things got into his head” when he first decided to apply for a “Transfer of Allegiance” to Great Britain, national sprinter Miguel Francis said his true desire is to run for Antigua & Barbuda once more.
The athlete, who turns 22 on March 28, said he has conveyed his decision to stay with Antigua & Barbuda to the country’s Minister of Sports, EP Chet Greene and is hoping he could be back in national colours shortly.
“Everybody is with me with my decision including my parents and everyone. I spoke with Chet Greene and told him about my decision and he was happy about my decision, and said I should come to Antigua so that we can sit down and have a meeting. I am in a very important part of my meeting right now so I can’t really leave yet but hopefully soon,” he said.
Francis, who spoke with OBSERVER media from Jamaica where he is stationed, said the condition of the country’s lone track & field facility remains one of his major concerns, adding that he has been assured that it will be fixed.
“I don’t know … things just got into my head and I just made a choice based on what was going on, but Antigua is who I want to run for. The concerns I had over the track and so forth are still there for me but the week when I was in Antigua for Nationals, there was a meeting at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium and they spoke about some funds being in place to get the track done. I heard it was supposed to have started this year but I don’t know what’s going on with that,” the athlete said.
The Montserrat-born sprinter explained that he would however have to wait before he can wear national colours again.
More in today’s Daily Observer.