Military players may enter. Military teams may not.

That’s the message from the Guam Football Federation to military units on the island regarding the new Guam Varsity Football League, scheduled to kick off in June. And a petty officer assigned to the USS Frank Cable is not happy about it.

“We need to do more to improve our standing in the community and this is an excellent opportunity to do something positive,” said John Bowman, adding that he’ll continue efforts to include a team in the league despite being told otherwise by league officials.

The Pacific Daily News reported Tuesday that Angel Calugay and Ivan Shiroma of the GFF told Bowman they want military players to integrate with local players rather than have their own team.

Calugay said in the PDN story that military teams “don’t last forever,” because of deployment and transfers, citing the fate of two military baseball teams that played in the Guam Major League in the 1990s. “Some of the players get stationed elsewhere during the season,” Calugay told the PDN.

Bowman told Stripes that putting a military team in the new football league would be win-win for both sides.

“It’s a chance for us to become involved in our community and become better neighbors,” Bowman said.

“Attendance at games would go up, which could provide local vendors and sponsors an opportunity to make more money. The addition of more teams only serves to increase the credibility of the league and gives fans and players a longer, more competitive season to look forward to.”

Bowman noted that there’s a concentration of Guam National Guard and reservists on the island, which could be banded together to form teams of their own.

“Why not have a local team of local Guardsmen and reservists?” he said. “If you’re going to include them, then bring in the rest of the military.”

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