Costa Rica Takes UNCAF Crown
Costa Rica won the UNCAF Cup after defeating Honduras 8-7 in a penalty shootout after they finished the final 1-1 at the end of regulation on Sunday.

Goalkeeper Francisco Porras starred for Costa Rica by deflecting two attempted Honduran penalty attempts.

Honduras' Milton Nunez scored in the 57th minute, while Whayne Wilson equalized in the 67th.

Costa Rica's successful penalty takers were Jafet Soto, Ever Alfaro, Wilson, Johny Cubero, Douglas Sequeira, Danny Fonseca, Junior Diaz and Michael Umana.

Nunez, Wilmer Velasquez, Walter Lopez, Sergio Mendoza, Mario Guerrero and Milton Reyes converted penalties for Honduras, but Parros saved shots by Mario Berrios and Erick Vallecillo.

Earlier, two goals from Juan Carlos Plata led Guatemala to a 3-0 victory over Panama for third place.

Edwin Villatoro scored first in the sixth minute, and Plata knocked in two more in the 40th and 50th.

By making the semi-finals, all four teams qualified for the CONCACAF Gold Cup in the United States in July.

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Skepticism Over Coco Urban Zone Plan By Zoraida Diaz, Thebeachtimes.com A little known bill to declare Playas del Coco an Urban Zone drew skeptical comments and surprised reactions from the Municipality of Carrillo and Coco’s development associations this week. Bill number 15.491 would declare as “Urban Zone” a strip of land 400 meters from the public 50-meter zone, right along the beach. The plan is to give the inhabitants of the area the legal right to obtain titles to their land. The bill, if it were made into law, would effectively grant the right of private property up to the 50-meter line. Critically, it would be an exception to the 6043 Maritime Law of 1977, which declared the next 150 meters to be state property, only to be used under concession. With such a declaration, the inhabitants of the coastal area of Coco who can prove that they had their homes by the ocean before the Maritime law was passed, can be granted land titles. José María Guevara Navarrete, Mayor of the Municipality of Carrillo which presides over Coco, was surprised and somewhat angered at the implications of the bill. “I’m not aware of the situation, but if they’re thinking of given Coco an urban status, it would be in detriment of the 6043 Maritime Law,” he said. “This would open the door for other localities along the coasts to do the same,” he said. “I don’t feel that the restricted area should be privatized and be left in private hands. It would be like liquidating your national patrimony.” Although the bill was presented before the Assembly on November 18, 2003, it is only now the executive power has asked the congress to review it during the extraordinary sessions which end April 30. The bill is under review by the Permanent Commission on Government and Administration, of the Congress. Some 30 bills are with the Commission, of which this is number 17 on the agenda. The bill, signed by 12 congressmen, has four of the signatories on the Commission of nine, including Guanacastean congressmen Francisco Sanchún Morán and Maria Lourdes Ocampo Fernández. The signatories say the bill, if passed, will bring progress to the region, bettering the social and economic conditions of the inhabitants, as well as increasing the municipality’s revenue and creating sources of employment. The document states Coco’s lack of urban status “has not allowed the city to develop as has happened with other coastal communities like Jacó, Limón, El Roble de Puntarenas and Quepos." But Mayor Guevara rejects the comparison between Coco and Jacó. “There’s a difference,” he says. “In Jacó there were many local inhabitants, here there are only businessmen —- people who live in San José most of the time. “I really don’t see any advantages,” he said. Rebeca Araya Quesada, a legal counsel to Guanacastean congresswoman Ligia Zúñiga Quesada, says that from its conception, the bill has a good chance of being passed, being that it was signed not just by one block, but also by congressmen from different parties. “One can see there is a great interest by a group of congressmen,” she said. “Since its inception, the bill has a strong consensus and has been signed by representatives from different factions.” That multi-party interest and the fact that the Executive power asked that it be studied outside the common sessions, indicate that the bill has a greater chance to become law. However, Javier Campos, President of the Asociación Integral de Desarrollo de Playas del Coco said the bill had been gathering dust for years. ”I’m not sure which bill you’re talking about,” he said. “If it’s one that would give the local people a right over their land, than we’re all for it. It could very well organize that whole area.” In any case, Javier Campos is more concerned with another project: a movement to declare Sardinal a Consejo de Districto, an administrative figure that would give Sardinal greater self-determination. “Sardinal makes up some 70% of the revenue of the Municipality of Carrillo. We want to help the municipality collect that revenue and administer those funds in a more efficient way,” Campos said. The procedures by which a bill becomes law are complicated and make it impossible to foresee its success. For instance, the Law of Fisheries, passed just this week, and long thought by many an urgent matter because of the lack of legal footing to prosecute or fine illegal fishing, languished in congress for more than a decade. “At this moment,” said Ms Araya, “there are only 30 projects on the agenda of the extraordinary sessions. In the ordinary sessions which run from May 1 to July 31, over 250 bills may be on the agenda.”