Marlon Harte and Kerry Trotman have been selected to represent the Barbados Football Association (BFA) in the prestigious Argentine-Caribbean Youth Football: Training of Trainers Programme, an initiative aimed at revolutionizing youth football coaching across the Caribbean.
Facilitated by the Argentine Fund for International Cooperation (FOAR) and the Organization of American States (OAS), the initiative is part of Argentina’s broader international cooperation strategy and underscores the shared values between Argentina and the Caribbean, bridging geographic divides with a common love for the sport.
The project to include 10 Caribbean countries—Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados, Belize, Dominica, Grenada, Jamaica, St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Lucia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, and Trinidad and Tobago—will be executed in two phases.
An eight-week virtual theoretical training session is scheduled for February 2025 and will focus on coaching methodologies, sports psychology, and the integration of technology in training.
Harte, an assistant coach for the national senior men’s team and football coach at Combermere School, boasts a wealth of experience, as he is also a former head coach of the national Under-15 boys team and an active youth club coach.
Trotman, a senior coach at Technique FC, is a recent graduate of the International Coaching Course (ICC) through the Hungarian University of Sports Sciences (HUSS), achieved via an Olympic Solidarity (OS) Scholarship.
Both coaches hold Concacaf B-License Coaching Certifications and are currently pursuing the FIFA Coach Educators’ Development Pathway, the international training required to become accredited Coach Educators.
BFA president Randy Harris, who also serves as CFU president, underscored the importance of such collaborations.
“Regional and international partnerships like these are critical to sustainable football development. With Argentina named as the 2024 FIFA/Coca-Cola top-ranked men’s football team, we could not ask for a more inspiring and fitting collaboration to help strengthen Caribbean football,” Harris, who attended the programme’s official launch in Jamaica, stated.
Harris emphasized the programme’s dual impact, as he pointed to its potential to elevate youth coaching standards and contribute to social development and inclusion.
“Football is a powerful tool that cuts across genders, cultures, languages, religions, socioeconomics, and politics. This initiative not only raises the standard of our regional youth coaching capacity but also empowers young people, unites diverse communities, and ensures no youth is left behind,” he added.
The BFA extended its best wishes to Harte and Trotman and expressed optimism about their continued contributions to the youth football landscape in Barbados and beyond.