President of the Barbados Football Association (BFA) Randy Harris has made it clear that no association member is among those who accepted or are being asked to return expensive watches presented by the Brazilian Football Federation (CBF) to officials during the 2014 FIFA World Cup.

FIFA has asked officials to return the watches or risk disciplinary action. The commemorative gifts were handed out by one of the CBF’s sponsors to various people at the World Cup, including 28 members of FIFA’s executive committee. The Parmigiani watches, each valued at £16,400, were given to 32 association chiefs, 28 FIFA executive committee members, and five other members of South American associations.

Harris was among BFA officials in Brazil for the World Cup and when contacted today by Barbados TODAY he explained that the gifts were given to association chiefs of the 32 teams that had actually made the World Cup final. Harris explained that accepting such expensive gifts was a no-no according to FIFA regulations.

While no gift of a watch was given to anyone in president Randy Harris’ BFA (right), UEFA boss Michel Platini (left) will be returning his Parmigiani.(FP)

FIFA president Sepp Blatter was also on the list of recipients but it is not known what happened to that watch, while UEFA president Michel Platini has indicated he is returning his.

England’s Football Association chairman Greg Dyke has also said he will return the watch given to him.

“We are taking steps to return the bag and its contents, which are still in their original packaging,” Dyke said today.

“During the FIFA Congress in Sao Paulo, a bag with a watch inside was left in my hotel room by the Brazilian FA. I had no idea of the value and it has been left untouched in my office since returning to England. I welcome FIFA’s investigation on the matter, including their intention to donate the items to good causes back in Brazil. The fact that gifts of great value are being handed out randomly and often with the recipient unaware shows up a culture in need of change. I had actually set the bag aside in my box of items to donate to charity,” Dyke said.

FIFA vice-president Jim Boyce said he found a watch in a souvenir bag in his garage last week and would return it. Several officials did report the watches to the ethics committee

FIFA’s code of ethics state that football officials should not accept gifts of more than “symbolic or trivial value” and that “if in doubt, gifts shall not be offered or accepted”.

It also states that ignorance is no defence and that officials “are expected to be aware of the importance of their duties and concomitant obligations and responsibilities”.

The ethics committee has indicated that if officials returned the watches by October 24 no further action would be taken and they would be given to charity.

FIFA’s ethics committee said in a statement today: “The CBF should not have offered the watches, and those who received gift bags should have promptly checked whether the items inside were appropriate and, upon discovering the watch, either returned it or reported the matter.

(BBC/WG)

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The FIFA Fair Play ceremony scheduled for this Sunday at 5:30 p.m. at Emmerton playing field, St Michael, has been postponed until further notice. The BFA apologizes for any inconvenience caused.

(PR)

President of the Barbados Football Association Randy Harris is on record calling for passion and commitment from his BFA officers in advancing the cause of Barbados’ football.

And new BFA general secretary Joyce Stewart appears to be on that page.

New BFA general secretary Joyce Stewart at her office today.

In her first interview with the media since being appointed the BFA’s first female general secretary and following the controversy over her non-possession of a work permit to be employed in Barbados, Stewart told Barbados TODAY that each morning she woke up she could not wait to get to the BFA office. Stressing her commitment to Barbados’ football, the former Canadian banker and football administrator said she had put the controversy over her work status behind her and was focused on assisting the BFA further develop football on the island.

Stewart, a former senior manager with a branch of Canadian Imperial Bank with a portfolio of 38,000 accounts and almost US$50 million in deposits, explained it was a desire to serve the community that led her to be involved in football.

“I began as a convenor and later became president of my local club. Eventually, I was the first woman to be elected first vice-president of the Ontario Football Association. Because of my moorings at the community level I had a  clear understanding of what was happening at various levels of the game. I understood the problems faced by coaches, players and administrators and the difficulties parents were encountering with their children in the junior leagues. I devised strategies that eliminated these problems,” the mother of two and grandmother of one said.

A strong believer in human rights, Stewart was the prime mover behind a campaign to stamp out racism in football during her tenure as first vice-president of the Ontario Football Association.

The regular visitor to Barbados for the past 25 years stated: “I could be on the Minister of Tourism’s list for long stay visitors. In the last few years, I have been visiting Barbados three times a year.”

Before her appointment with the BFA, Stewart said she had been considering living in Barbados six months a year.

Stewart was vacationing in the island last year when she saw the advertisement for the post of BFA general secretary. She said she thought the position was similar to the voluntary posts she held in Canada and applied for the job. She was on a short list of persons interviewed and was appointed to the position.

However, after her role with the BFA was brought to the attention of the Immigration Department, she was informed that she needed a work permit to function in the post and subsequently acquired it on May 28. Since then Stewart has gone about her job with fervour.

Stuart admitted her knowledge of the game was very limited but stressed as an administrator that was not important.

“My role as general secretary is to manage the office of the BFA effectively and to help devise strategies that will improve football on the island,” she said.

Stewart added that training was vital for all the key players who were involved in the game.

“We know that sports make children do much better with their studies. It gives them that discipline that serves them for life. It is my intention to seek out scholarships for our young footballers both male and female. Everyone is aware of the opportunities that are available to footballers in the various international leagues. I hope during my tenure as general secretary we can get places for our young footballers at colleges,” Stewart said.

She pointed out that more training for coaches and referees was needed to make them aware of what was taking place in the game and how to deal with or stop problems from developing during games.

“Coaches should have a keen insight into the behavioral patterns of their players and should be able to spot if they are getting out of hand on the field and bring them off before they become involved in a confrontation with another player. It is my intention to hold training sessions for coaches that will make them aware of these things,” Stewart said.

Another of her suggestions is that the BFA work more closely with the Royal Barbados Police Force to pinpoint feuding districts which might have teams playing in competitions organised by the BFA.

“If we can identify these areas, the relevant security measures can be instituted to stop any infractions from taking place,” she explained.

Gang-related violence has occasionally reared its ugly head at football games in the island.

Stewart said she was eagerly looking forward to the opening of the BFA facility at Wildey, St Michael and hoped that it would play a major role in the development of football on the island.

She praised the staff in the BFA office highly.

“I am still learning the nuances of Barbados and I rely heavily on the staff in the office to help me,” Stuart said.

Stuart noted the members of the BFA staff were using the opportunities available to them to improve their skills. She said one staff member recently had an attachment at FIFA, and she hoped that more of them would be given such opportunities.

Her work permit is for two years and Stewart said she was thankful for the opportunity to serve the game she adores in the country she loves.

The excitement of seven-a-side football comes to the Police Sports Club Grounds at Weymouth, Roebuck Street, St Michael on October 3 in the Special Olympics Barbados National Games Football Tournament.

The Learning Centre and the All Saints Primary Special Unit will be out to defend their 2013 senior and junior titles, but it will not be an easy task. Last year, teams from the Alma Parris Memorial Secondary School, the Ann Hill School and the Challenor Creative Arts Training Centre presented strong competition for the Senior Division Championship, while young athletes from the Alma Parris Memorial School, the Erdiston Special School, the Eagle Hall Primary Annex and the St Matthews Primary Annex put forth a spirited battle for the Junior Division Championship. There will be more of the same this year.

Ancil Powlett (left) is one of the players who have shone at the Special Olympics football tournament.

The 2014 Special Olympics Barbados National Games Football Tournament promises another great day of sport, with an added feature. Some of the intellectually challenged athletes who will be in action will also travel to Los Angeles, California next year for the 2015 Special Olympics World Summer Games, where Barbados’ athletes will compete against teams from more than 170 countries.

The public is invited to come out, cheer and help bolster the confidence of the local athletes. The Special Olympics Barbados National Games Football Tournament, as all other Special Olympics sports events, is free of charge.

Meanwhile, Special Olympics Barbados athletes are currently training for the 2015 World Games. Local athletes are scheduled to compete in football, aquatics, track and field, bocce and golf. All of Barbados can become a part of that effort. Digicel, in its continuing support of Special Olympics, has established the Digicel Road To The World Games Fund to help make their dreams come true. Collection tins have been placed in Digicel locations and many other participating businesses nationwide. Direct donations can also be made to the Digicel Road To The World Games Fund at CIBC First Caribbean International Bank, account number 1001111009.

(PR)

Football coaches in Barbados need to get themselves better qualified, says referees manager at the Barbados Football Association (BFA), Mark Forde.

“What we need to do in Barbados is to educate our present coaches we have on the island to get them better qualified; to get them to go overseas and do more coaching courses. Once they go and they get training overseas and come back to Barbados then they would be able to apply and be available to carry out the role of technical director for football in Barbados,” Forde said.

The manager’s statement came on the heels of the appointment of Brazilian-born coach Marcos Falopa as the new technical director of football on the island just over a month ago. Last August when Falopa was introduced to the Barbadian public, one of the areas which he said he would be focusing on was training the coaches during a series of seminars which allowed coaches to become more certified.

Falopa was contracted for a six month period by the BFA to do the job and according to Forde having a man with Falopa’s knowledge and experience as technical director should really help local coaches and referees.

“In my role as referees’ manager, I would be asking him to come in and speak to the referees on tactical skills, different game plans, what the referees should look for when they see certain things. It is a means to help the referees better read the game, better control the game and having an understanding on the technical aspect of the game. So he is going to be very crucial from that standpoint,” Forde said.

Manager for the referees department at the Barbados Football Association (BFA), Mark Forde, would like to see more of Barbadian referees getting appointments in Champions League Football.

However, Forde pointed out he was pleased with the overall appointment of Barbadian referees by FIFA.

Mark Forde, manager of the referees department of the BFA

“I am pleased with the appointments that we have been getting. I, however, would like to see more appointments in the Champions League because that is where you get some of the best clubs from Canada, America, Mexico and the Central American region. So I would like to see our referees doing a bit more of that and I would like to see our referees involved in the finals of the CONCACAF Under-17, Under-20 and hopefully in the Caribbean Cup final that would be played in Jamaica,” he said.

The manager added that both male and female referees which include FIFA appointed referees Adrian Skeete, Trevor Taylor and Gillian Martindale along with Clifton Garnes, Adrian Goddard and Shannon Gibson, have been used during the Under-17, Under-20, CONCACAF Champions League and Caribbean Cup.

Gibson in particular was given special mention because the BFA would be seeking to put her name forward on the FIFA list for next year as an assistant referee.

“One of the candidates we would be looking to put on the FIFA list for next year is Shannon Gibson who is a new candidate and we are putting her on the list as an assistant referee. She also had the opportunity to go to the girls’ Under-15 CONCACAF competition in Cayman Island in which Barbados also participated,” Forde said.

When contacted by Barbados TODAY, Gibson said her intention was to go as far as possible in her refereeing career but at this point her main aim was to get on the FIFA list and afterwards look to emulate the likes of Barbados’ highest qualified female international referee Gillian Martindale.

“My goal is to reach the level Gillian Martindale has or even higher and I would love to work alongside her one day where she would be in the middle and I would be the ER in a game. I would love to do that on the big stage. She and I do games together; she actually helps me with my training and pass on her knowledge to me along with Trevor Taylor and Adrian Goddard,” Gibson said.

She explained refereeing was something she never considered until her coach Adrian Mapp encouraged her to do the course in 2012.

Shannon Gibson

“I have been into refereeing for a year and because I actually used to play football my coach told me to do the referees course in 2012 and I just did it because he told me so. I was not taking it seriously because I was only focused on playing football. Afterwards I realize there were various opportunities in refereeing and everybody kept telling me I could get further in refereeing than playing football and I said I will take a try,” said the 23-year-old.

The former Lester Vaughan student said: “It is hard battling with work and then having to train and still have games in between but I see the bigger picture and nothing in life comes easy. I want to make the list then the hardest part is keeping fit and being up to par with the knowledge.”

Gibson added she recently came back from the Under-15 girls CONCACAF competition where she saw the potential for women to get involved in refereeing and encouraged other local girls to get involved.

“I would encourage more girls to get into refereeing even though most girls who play the game are like how I was, concentrating on football and not taking the rest serious. I believe seeing is believing. The hardest thing is to pass the course and then you get recommended. So as it relates to me I had to take that step to see what it is all about because you hear people say things but you are still not sure.

“I would like girls to get involved in refereeing because when I went to the Cayman Island I was the only female representative from Barbados while other countries had like three or more referees there,” she said.

marissalindsay@barbadostoday.bb

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Newly elected chairman of the Caribbean Tourism Organisation (CTO) and Minister of Tourism and International Transport, Richard Sealy, is slated to be a keynote speaker at the opening ceremony of the two-day Soccerex Americas Forum at the Lloyd Erskine Sandiford Centre on October 21 and 22.

Sealy will join other major speakers such as Major League Soccer commissioner Don Garber and Soccerex chairman Tony Martin at the opening ceremony.

Minister of Tourism and International Transport Richard Sealy

This is the first time Barbados will be the host country of this prestigious forum, which  brings together key industry decision-makers from the world of football and provides a unique commercial environment where delegates will benefit from exclusive business opportunities, networking and bespoke educational content.

The forum will be the playing field for sports buyers, suppliers and key decision-makers within the Americas – and the rest of the world – to network and do business. It will also feature an agenda-setting programme, covering topics such as league development, player development and retention and sport tourism – a key focus for countries within this region with their attractive climates and rich sporting culture.

There will also be a focus on major events with the 2016 Copa America and a potential CONCACAF 2026 World Cup bid high on the agenda. The event will include a host of footballing legends sharing their opinions on the beautiful game, including a review of the 2014 FIFA World Cup.

Commenting on the new event, Petra Roach, interim president and chief executive officer of the Barbados Tourism Authority, said: “We are proud and privileged to be the host location for this year’s Soccerex Americas Forum. As a nation of sporting enthusiasts, we take football very seriously, and thus are delighted to be able to facilitate an event whereby the beautiful game is at the core of the discourse.”

Barbadians will get the opportunity to listen to and rub shoulders with some of football’s greats when the Soccerex Americas Forum comes off at the Lloyd Erskine Sandiford Centre on October 21 and 22.

As well as providing a unique platform from which the football industry can learn, network and do business, Soccerex events traditionally involve discussions with some of the game’s all time greats and this year’s Americas forum will be no different, featuring Argentina’s Ossie Ardiles and England’s John Barnes and Bryan Robson, three legends that have made huge impressions both in the Premier League and on the international stage. They will be featured on the final afternoon of the forum.

Osvaldo ‘Ossie’ Ardilles

John Barnes

Bryan Robson

Such is Robson’s undying legacy at Old Trafford that many consider him the best player to wear the club’s iconic No. 7 shirt, the same shirt worn by the likes of David Beckham, Cristiano Ronaldo and George Best. After retiring in 1997, Robson has managed the likes of West Bromwich Albion and the Thailand national team; however, he now works as an international ambassador for Manchester United.

An immediate cult hero amongst the Spurs faithful following his arrival in 1978, Ardiles was one of the original foreign imports to the English league. Having won the World Cup with Argentina, Ossie made the move to North London where he spent a decade, winning two FA Cups and the UEFA Cup in 1984.  The Argentine also featured in the American Soccer League, playing for Ft Lauderdale Strikers in 1989.

An awesome blend of strength and skill, the Jamaican born John Barnes will go down in Liverpool history as one of the best players to pull on the red shirt. Barnes succeeded Ian Rush as captain in the mid-1990s and nurtured the likes of Robbie Fowler and Jamie Redknapp’s careers. Since retiring from the game in 1999, Barnes has continued his desire to nurture young talents and returned home to manage Jamaica in 2008 before moving back to England a year later.

Soccerex chief executive officer Duncan Revie commented: “Whilst there is always a focus on business at Soccerex events, it is important to remember that there would be no business without football.  We are delighted to honour the playing side of the game by welcoming Bryan, John and Ossie to our Americas forum and I am sure their presence will appeal to the football fan present in so many of us.”

Robson, Ardiles and Barnes will be three of a number of high profile speakers at the Americas Forum with industry leaders such as CONCACAF president Jeffrey Webb, MLS Medical co-ordinator John Gallucci, former FA and Arsenal vice chairman David Dein and FIFA & CONCACAF ExCo member Sonia Bien-Anne joining former Chelsea and Holland striker Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink among many others.

It was the Joelle Gibson show yesterday as action in the Barbados Football Association’s Women’s League continued at the Emmerton, St. Michael playing field.

Joelle Gibson was in sizzling form for Genesis.

The dynamic Genesis striker was at the heart of virtually every offensive effort of her side as they trampled all over Technique 5-1.

Gibson got on the scoresheet as early as the tenth minute and followed that up with goals in the 32nd, 37th and 82nd minute to complete a spectacular beaver-trick. The Technique defence had no answer for Gibson’s speed and ability to shake off defenders. They did get a goal in the first half, compliments of Kayla Blackett who netted just before the whistle, but that was as good as it got for Technique. Makala Alleyne also got her name in the scorer’s column for Genesis in the 44th minute.

Mavericks’ Felicia Jarvis was also in excellent touch, scoring a hat-trick as they defeated Empire 3-1. The two teams had a few missed opportunities in the first-half but went into the break locked at 0-0. On resumption Jarvis made it 1-0 in the 50th minute but this was almost immediately cancelled out by Aricia Chandler a minute later to make it 1-1.

Mavericks continued to press Empire and were rewarded for their efforts when Jarvis netted in the 59th minute. She would complete her hat-trick three minutes from the end of regulation time.

The struggles of Eden Stars Unity One continued when they were easily disposed of 3-1 by UWI. Renasha Jones scored in the 60th minute for UWI and her effort was followed by goals from Rhea Holder in the 64th minute and Colleen Johnson in the 69th. Eden Stars Unity One got a consolation  goal in the 90th minute after an infringement in the area resulted in a penalty which Riana Cyrus duly converted.

The Barbados Football Association and personnel from the FIFA Management Performance programme recently concluded its organizational and leadership retreat. The week-long retreat from October 6 to 11 was a holistic study of the current BFA operations, its staff and other stakeholders in football in Barbados.

“The Barbados Football Association is embarking on a whole new era and the just concluded FIFA organizational and leadership retreat has set us on that path; moreover it was very pleasing that our government officials were receptive to our plans for the development of football,” said president Randy Harris.

Such plans include FIFA Community Grassroots Programme for children ages 6 – 12, training for parents and teachers as well as youth ambassadors.

The officials from FIFA had praise for some of the initiatives already put in place by the BFA which includes its new finance policies, the hiring of the technical director and general secretary as well as communications and marketing personnel. One of the main concerns raised were brand awareness regionally and especially locally among other things.

At a meeting with sponsors, they noted that football had the largest participation and fan base in Barbados and indicated their intention to embraced the BFA’s plans fully.

The FIFA delegation also had a candid conversation with various media officers to ascertain how they perceived the football administration and its standard of play. Although they were happy to say that information has been easy to access from the BFA there was dissatisfaction in the lack of facilities for media at football as well as opportunities for ascertaining post-game reports.

BFA president Randy Harris (with ball) and other members of the participants in the FIFA workshop.

Through this interaction the members of the FIFA delegation were able to provide recommendations for change. Change that includes the major findings from the stakeholders and the FIFA delegates themselves. The FIFA delegates insisted that new business strategies must occur in key areas such marketing, media relations, collaboration with government and other sporting bodies, along with changes to the various leagues and stadium infrastructure. 2015 promises to showcase new improvements to the football landscape in Barbados.

Barbados’ Under-17 football squad departed the Grantley Adams International Airport this afternoon full of confidence for the final round of the Caribbean Football Union qualifiers in Haiti.

Head coach Colin Harewood said he expected the local lads to deliver a good performance against the likes of Trinidad and Tobago, St Lucia and hosts Haiti in order to book their place to play in the FIFA World Cup.

“The past two months have been great, the guys have been working hard at practice and I am confident the guys will do well on the tour,” Harewood said.

He added: “The game plan is to go out there and play together as a team and try to set early.”

Captain Torian Went told Barbados TODAY the team was hoping to leave a legacy by playing well in Haiti in order to advance to the finals and then come out victorious in the final once they got there.

Captain Torian Went

“We believe we can do well and qualify but football is played on the day. But I believe in the team and they believe in me and the motto of this team is ‘Believe’ and we all have the passion and dream of going to the World Cup so we will play hard to make sure we qualify,” Went said.

The Barbados Soccer Academy (BSA) started the Super League Soccer Tournament with a 5-0 win over Road View over the weekend at the Mahaica grounds in Speightstown, St Peter.

Hundreds of spectators watched as the youth team mesmerised Road View. Young talented BSA player Ocean Sobers-Henry, a national Under-20 player scored a hat trick, while the other goals came from Akeem Hill and Rommel Boyne. The hapless Road View were simply no match for the BSA team which will be using this tournament also as preparation for an upcoming  tour to Florida in December.

Gaza United Football Club, winners of this year’s Silver Sands Tournament stamped their authority early with two victories against Speightstown and Urban Vibes. Street Vibes of Christ Church hammered Six Men’s 6 -0.

Matches scheduled this week are as follow:

October 22, venue Speightstown

6:30 p.m. Gully Side versus No 1 Beauty Supply

7:45 p.m. Pelicans versus Vility Urban Vbyz

9 p.m. St John Sonnets versus Elite Back Opts

October 23, venue Speightstown

6:30p.m. BSA versus Vegas

7:45p.m. De Team versus Street Vbyz

9 p.m. Norman 2000 versus YMFC 

Barbados suffered defeat  in their Caribbean Football Union U17 Finals Group A match yesterday, going down 2-0 to hosts Haiti at the Sylvio Cator Stadium.

Barbados were on the back foot very early in the game when they conceded a fifth-minute goal netted by Denilson Pierre.

They then had to contend with a wave of attacks from the speedy Haitians and were further in trouble before the half-time whistle when Denso Ulysse scored in the 34th minute.

In the evening’s first game St Lucia defeated Trinidad & Tobago  2-0. St Lucia opened the competition with their first goal in the 25th minute through Noah Nicholas. Trinidad failed to score in the first half as St Lucia went into the second half with confidence. Nicholas would score his second of the night in the 53rd minute; his two goals ensuring
St Lucia an early 3 points in the group.

Barbados will hope to bounce back from their disappointing performance when they take on nemesis Trinidad and Tobago tomorrow at the same venue.

The days of having unfit football referees who are unable to manage the game effectively and efficiently for ninety minutes are over.

This assurance was given today by vice-president of the Barbados Football Association (BFA) referees committee, Andrew Belgrave, during the closing ceremony of the Member Association Elite Referees Course held at the Barbados Olympic Association.

Belgrave told a gathering which included BFA president Randy Harris that the time invested by instructors should reflect on local referees and if they were not performing then one could assume the instructors were failing at their jobs.

(From left) Andrew Belgrave and David Meikle.

“If you are just here for other reasons my advice is to stay home. We have no time for referees who are not serious about their craft. I have no time to give up for referees that are not interested in their craft, and interested means attending training, being early, being involved, doing what you have to do,” he noted.

There were 25 referees in total from Barbados who participated in the course which commenced last Thursday, October 16, and ended this afternoon.

The vice-president said one of the main concerns for local referees this year was fitness and made it clear that if they felt they didn’t have to train because they didn’t have to do a fitness test or they were not a part of FIFA and were not going anywhere, they were wrong.

“My only concern is that the fitness aspect was lagging a little this year and as I said it reflects on me and whether you are 19 or 45 it reflects on me. So in future when the tests are called and I am asked to assist in selecting referees and I realize you cannot even do a decent fitness test I would recommend to Mr Callender [Barney] or whoever is in charge to leave these people off the courses because it is better for us to have 15 referees and 12 passing fitness test than to have 30 and 12 passing.”

Belgrave’s comments were supported by Jamaican-born FIFA physical instructor, David Meikle, who facilitated the course over the duration of the four days. He said in his country the decision was taken that if a referee could not pass his or her fitness test they simply would not referee a game.

“I would straight off the bat advise Andrew to go for it. In Jamaica, our season started September and it usually starts with the playing of the school boys’ competition which is one of the most viewed competitions in the island. A lot of games are played so you know you need a lot of referees to man these games and the decision we took prior to the start of the season was that if referees can’t pass a test which lasts for roughly twenty-three minutes, how are you going to manage a game that lasts ninety minutes?

“So the decision was taken if you don’t pass the test you don’t referee a game and of course we came up against opposition from the referees themselves and from some of our local presidents but in the end our plans went through. We did not use one referee who did not pass the test. In fact, we started getting a lot of calls asking: ‘Can you reschedule a fitness test for me?’,” Meikle said, to laughter from the audience.

marissalindsay@barbadostoday.bb

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The 2026 World Cup must be held in the CONCACAF region, says confederation president Jeffrey Webb.

Speaking at the opening ceremony of the first Soccerex Americas Forum to be staged in the region, Webb said that if the 41 national associations that made up CONCACAF allowed more than 32 years to pass without hosting the World Cup, it would be a great injustice. Before an audience that included several major football stakeholders from Europe and the Americas, Webb said CONCACAF had to stand united as a region to host the 2026 event.

Webb, who replaced Austin “Jack” Warner as CONCACAF boss in 2012, said the Soccerex Americas Forum provided an excellent opportunity for stakeholders to network and understand the markets that existed throughout the Caribbean. He stated that though the region might have small economies and small market share, it nonetheless had big dreams. He said that one of those dreams was having a professional league in the Caribbean.

Webb said attendance records were smashed when CONCACAF staged Gold Cups and this also held true for commercial activity during such events. He added that the National Football League in the USA had a 100 per cent increase in commercial activity but in CONCACAF there was a situation where there was 300 and 400 per cent increased value on media rights.

The 40-year-old native of the Cayman Islands said a Caribbean Professional League was a major dream and it was up to this generation to make that dream a reality. He stated football offered opportunities for the region’s young people to fulfill their aspirations and extended beyond the field of play. He noted that 79 per cent of revenues made from the sport was invested back into the game in grassroots and coaching education programmes, among other areas.

Webb noted that as part of the thrust toward the realization of a professional league in the region, a CONCACAF task force would be holding discussions with CARICOM and the Caribbean Tourism Organisation.

“The dream must become a reality,” he stressed.

Touching on women’s football, Webb said that over the next few days CONCACAF would be focusing on a development strategy to see how it could make women’s football in the region even better. He said CONCACAF had more female footballers than any other confederation in the world. He explained that women’s soccer in the USA was the most prominent sport there and growing. He noted there were 19 female teams commanding average attendance of about 20 000 people.

Revealing how Barbados came to be chosen for the prestigious Soccerex Americas Forum, Webb said many venues had been discussed but he had recommended Barbados to Soccerex officials since there was no other economy or government in the history of the Caribbean that had embraced sports tourism as Barbados had. He added that long before there was even the theme of sports tourism around the Caribbean, it had been established in Barbados.

Duirng the opening ceremony both Minister of Tourism Richard Sealy and Minister of Sports Stephen Lashley addressed the packed gathering. They welcomed the delegates with Minister Sealy highlighting the business opportunities which sports tourism offered. He also gave a history of the initial discussions which had led to Soccerex choosing Barbados for the two-day conference.

Also addressing the morning session was Soccerex chairman Tony Martin.

During the afternoon there were panel discussions looking at sports tourism; medical treatment on and off the pitch; the finance and regulation of football; and soccer as a game of opportunity. The forum concludes tomorrow.

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Barbados remained firmly rooted at the bottom of Group A after they were beaten 3-0 by Trinidad and Tobago in the Caribbean Football Union Men’s Under-17 Qualifiers at the Sylvio Cator Stadium in Port-Au-Prince, Haiti, last night.

Once again Barbados were shaky in defence and their frontline again failed to score after going down 2-0 to Haiti in their last match.

Anthony Herbert opened the scoring for Trinidad in the 19th minute and the score remained that way when the half-time whistle went.

Trinidad and Tobago pressured Barbados’ defence on the resumption and they were rewarded in the 50th minute when Tekay Hoyace also found the back of the nets.

The teenage Soca Warriors completed the rout when Dereem Daniels made it three goals in the 77th minute. Haiti top the group with six points, Trinidad are second on three, St Lucia have three points and Barbados are on zero.

Meanwhile in another game played, Haiti defeated St Lucia 6-1. Scoring for Haiti were Johnson Jeudy in the 17th, Ronaldo Damus in the 31st, Bicou Bissainthe in the 45th and Jude Maitre in the 49th, 64th and 83rd.

Noah Nicholas netted in the 61st minute for St Lucia.

Sexism appears to be hampering the further development of women’s football in the region.

Sonia Bien-Aime

That was the suggestion today from Sonia Bien-Aime, executive committee member of both CONCACAF and FIFA, during her participation in a discussion entitled The Home Of Women’s Football at the Soccerex Americas Forum at the Lloyd Erskine Sandiford Centre.

She told the audience on the final day of the two-day forum that although many strides had been made in women’s football, there were still gender problems and male attitudes were an issue. She said there were some men in major positions in football who were still living in the dark ages.

Bien-Aime said while FIFA had instituted particular mandates with respect to women’s football, inclusive of funding allocations, there were still issues related to how these funds were applied to the women’s game. Invariably, she suggested, male attitudes were at the centre of this problem.

“I have no idea where women’s football development would be in this region if FIFA hadn’t made it mandatory. And I think if we all want to be honest with ourselves, and I am saying this because in a lot of the member associations we have men there as leaders who make the decisions . . . I would say they help but not as much as they should. We do have men that help. I can’t say it is a large number committed to women’s development football, but we also have a lot of them still stuck in the dark ages,” she stressed.

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Minister of Sports Stephen Lashley is anxious to see an urgent resolution of the crisis facing West Indies cricket and he’s prepared to help broker a deal if called upon to do so.

Describing the abrupt end of the Indian tour and the resulting strong retaliation from the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) as a “big issue that threatens all that we [the region] have actually built up in cricket”, Lashley today underscored the need for immediate intervention.

“I have a passion and a desire to have it fixed and to the extent that I can offer any help in that regard I am available. I am sure it is a burning issue that would be of concern and I am anxious to have this matter resolved,” he told reporters on the sidelines of the Socerrex Forum being held at the Lloyd Erskine Sandiford Centre.

West Indies players took the controversial decision to abandon the tour at the end of the fourth One Day International in Dharamsala last Friday, in protest of new contracts brokered by the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) and the West Indies Players’ Association (WIPA) which the players claimed resulted in significant pay cuts for them.

In response, the BCCI served notice yesterday that it was contemplating a lawsuit to recoup losses estimated at $65 million for the cancellation of the last ODI, a lone Twenty20 International and three Test matches.

The Indian authorities have also threatened to suspend bilateral tours with the West Indies for possibly five years.

Lashley would not be drawn into any discussion over who was at fault, only insisting that the focus must now be on settling the matter.

Stephen Lashley

“One of the key things of mediation is that you never take a position on who’s right, who’s wrong and I don’t think that is relevant right now,” he stressed. “The key thing is that it has happened and our role now is to fix it and move it beyond the point of  being a stalemate.”

The Minister also stayed clear of saying how the disputing parties should proceed.

“Any advice that I am prepared to give would be based on if we are having a serious in-house discussion where we could give advice to the players, the West Indies Cricket Board and even the Indian Cricket Board as well. It is really beyond public speculation at this stage [and] we should probably avoid that,” he added.

Today, the President of the Barbados Football Association (BFA) Randy Harris also weighed in on the developments troubling West Indies cricket.

Also speaking to reporters at the international conference, he insisted that the players’ walkout would never happen in the football arena.

“We in football could never allow any of our teams to just pick up and leave a tournament, we would be banished,” Harris said, while noting that “as an employee it would be hard to continue working if out of the blue my salary was cut without any consultation”.

However, he suggested that top WICB officials should have immediately flown to India upon hearing the players’ threat to withdraw their services.

In fact, he said an attempt should still be made to get to India as soon as possible.

“I don’t know if there is a forum to speak to the principals of other top cricketing nations and sit down and really try to come to a solution. There are sides in all stories but the [international cricket fraternity] needs to know why this had to happen in the Caribbean and they have to be satisfied that this is not likely to happen in the near future,” the BFA president said.

However, he does not anticipate any spillover effect on the region’s football.

“Football has its specific regulations. When it comes to withdrawal for any reason, we don’t withdraw, we participate and then we deal with the issue,” he said.

Following an intense meeting at the Accra Beach Hotel yesterday, the WICB announced it would establish a task force to probe the circumstances that gave rise to the dramatic pullout by the senior West Indies cricketers from their tour of India.

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The recently concluded two-day Soccerex Americas Forum provided the opportunity for government officials, the private sectors and other sporting organizations to be sensitized on the impact football has as a sport, says general secretary of the Barbados Football Association, Joyce Stewart.

  “Soccerex provided a visual impact of how powerful the game is. It indicated clearly the power football has on the business world and the development of people, whether it is in sports or any other aspect of their life,” Stewart said.

  During the two-day forum at the Lloyd Erskine Sandiford Centre, several discussions were held on various aspects of the sport by a number of key players in local, regional and international football.

  Among them were Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink formerly of Chelsea, John Barnes the former England international, Ossie Ardiles member of Argentina’s World Cup winners of 1978 and Bryan Robson, former Manchester United and England international. In addition there were several representatives from sports marketing agencies and leading members of CONCACAF and the Caribbean Football Union along with several international and regional journalists.

  In the final sesson of the Forum which was entitled Legends In Discussion, Robson, Barnes and Ardiles gave their thoughts on the game. During that discussion Robson called for a cap on the number of foreign players in the English Premier League.

  “I know this is a call that will go unanswered but I think the time has come to place a cap on the number of foreign players playing in the Premier League if England is to become a powerhouse in world football. Our league might be strong but our team is unable to make it into the quarter- finals of the World Cup,” Robson said.

  Barnes while not disagreeing with Robson said that football fans in England supported their clubs rather than the national team.

  “Football fans support their club rather than the national team. Liverpool fans want Steven Gerrard to score goals for them. So if he is tired and have to miss a couple of matches for the national team they do not mind as long as he is fit and able to play for his club,”, Barnes said.

  During the discussion Ardiles said that while he always longed for a South American team to win the World Cup, he had to admit that Europe was the powerhouse of world football and seemed set to remain so for a long time.

Barbados finally managed a point in the 2014 Caribbean Football Union (CFU) Men’s Under-17 Qualifiers in Haiti yesterday.

Playing at the Sylvio Cator Stadium, Barbados and St Lucia drew 1-1 with the latter coming from behind to share the points. Omani Leacock netted for Barbados in the 55th minute and Antoine Wilfred scored in the 72nd for St Lucia. Barbados finished at the bottom of Group A.

Haiti and St Lucia topped the group with nine and four points respectively, while Trinidad & Tobago ended up with three points.

Haiti defeated Trinidad & Tobago 3-0. Scoring for Haiti were Jacques Saul Metellus in the 14th minute, and Davidson Claude in the 56th and 69th minutes.

Haiti and St Lucia await the results from the Group B games which were scheduled to be played tonight, to know which team they face in the finals and the third and fourth place playoff.

The two top teams from both groups along with the best third placed team will advance to the 2015 CONCACAF Championship scheduled to be staged in Honduras.