It has been a while since our last post; but quite honestly, very little - at least on the positive side of things - have transpired in Vincy football since our last post. So congratulations once again to our first annual VHP award winners (2010): Cornelius Stewart - Senior Male Footballer of the Year; Myron Samuel - Junior Male Footballer of the Year; and Mr Kevin Richardson - Coach of the Year.
All in all 2010 was a dismal year for football in St. Vincent, and while the executive of the SVGFF continues to chit chat about its dreamy plans in closed circles and behind closed doors, it seems poised to hold us all ransom to a familiar fate in 2011. The question therefore is: Are the affiliates of Vincy football prepared to experience yet another year of potential dissapointment?
The word on the ground is that a new Technical Director has been hired by the SVGFF; and one would imagine that this is with the intention of bringing Vincy football "up-to-par".
Now I am not one for propoganda, but a little mocking bird described to me what this new TD's pocket should look like at the end of the month - with that in mind, there is no doubt that the SVGFF has gone high profile. But where are all the systems to support this high profile appointment? What's the marketting and sales strategy for 2011? Certainly Vincy football would now need to sustain its "high profile" reputation. What would be done to regain the visible support of the general public? Support for junior and senior Vincy Heat outfits has dwindled significantly, and so has the following for local club competitions. What is the SVGFF prepared to do to attract even the most die-hard of fans who have simply "given-up"? When would the SVGFF quit playing games with the preparation of teams for regional and international competitions? And when would the SVGFF get out of its ad hoc, now-for-now mentality?
We take for example the National Under 23/ Olympic football traning squad. These younsters have been in training since the end of November 2010, and to this point, the SVGFF has not made a single committment to this programme. In fact, the programme is currently running unofficially under the direction of coaches Kendale Mercury (Head Coach), Cornelius Huggins (Assistant Coach), Kevin Richardson (Goal Keeping Coach), and Manager Jamal Browne. None of these individuals have been appointed, and neither were they asked to render this service. They however saw the need to get the programme up and running to avoid the usual occurence of teams being pulled together two or three months prior to tournaments.
Under 23/ Olympic Qualifiers kick off in June of this year - that basically gives us three months to get primed for a competition that most Caribbean teams have already begun training for. The Trinidad & Tobago Football Federation for example would have made its appointments of coaches and managerial staff for its Under 23 team as early as the end of November 2010. The SVGFF on the other hand has made none to date. This is inexcusable, and is nothing but a true reflection of the performance of the executive over the past five years.
However, the SVGFF should be thankful to these four individuals who have been working assiduously to keep alive a programme that as far as the FF is concerned has not even been given birth to.
It is time enough that the local football affiliates stand up and let their voices be heard. Affiliates are far too silent for most of the year. Many however choose to make personal rather than professional objections about the functioning of the administrative machinery of the FF during the open forum of the AGM - that's just once a year; and otherwise, silently criticize every aspect of the local football structure. Are the affiliates even aware of their right to a vote of 'No Confidence' in the instance of true/ justified and persistent lapses in representation? I am not too certain.
In closing, we sometimes need to hang up our egos before we even become capable of rational and productive thoughts. Apparently, a lot of this needs to take place within local football before we can even consider moving forward. However, as unlikely as it seems, the change should begin at the top.
