As the St. Kitts and Nevis Football Association's Scouting Showcase progresses, the fate of aspiring young footballers hangs in the balance. The chance to secure scholarships for U.S. colleges or universities or embark on a professional football journey with U.S. or Central American clubs is within reach as the showcase enters a critical stage today.
On Tuesday, January 30th, a select group of players from the initial combine sessions captured the attention of visiting scouts and National Team Coach Francisco Molina. Coach Molina, observing from the sidelines, expressed satisfaction with the sessions, stating, "The scouts and coaches from overseas have assisted us in identifying the quality players they wish to see, and we've made significant progress. The second half of both sessions showcased a remarkable level of talent."
Looking ahead to the final day on Wednesday, Coach Molina anticipates the selection of a group of standout players based on their on-field performance. Reflecting on the opportunity, he shared, "As a youngster, I dreamt of moments like these. I hope these players possess the same hunger and enthusiasm I had at their age. Opportunities like these don't come every day."
Coach Molina commended the SKNFA and all contributors for making the combine a reality, extending praise to the showcased players. Despite the selection process, Molina acknowledged the impressive talent displayed by all participants, emphasizing that even those not chosen for the final sessions showcased noteworthy skills.
Over the two days, approximately 150 participants have been narrowed down to around 36 players. Coach Molina highlighted the abundance of technical ability, speed, and strength among the players and expressed confidence in their potential success. He suggested that the coaches at foreign universities and clubs could play a vital role in developing the tactical skills required for further advancement.
Organized by the SKNFA, the Scouting Showcase aims to create opportunities for local young players, offering pathways to either a professional career in football or scholarships to U.S. universities and colleges.
Newly appointed St Kitts and Nevis Football Association (SKNFA) Technical Advisor Claude Makélélé arrived in St. Kitts Saturday afternoon and was received by a high-level delegation at the KayanJet Lounge at the RLB International Airport.
The 50-year-old Makélélé, who as a defensive midfielder enjoyed a successful club career playing for French champions Paris Saint-Germain (PSG), LaLiga giants Real Madrid and many-time English Premier League champions, Chelsea, arrived on the island with his agent Sofiane Youssef.
They were welcomed by SKNFA President Atiba Harris, First Vice President Shawn White, Second Vice President Cuthbert Caines, and St. Kitts and Nevis Senior Men's National goalkeeper and captain, Julani Archibald.
The pair was also greeted by Prime Minister Dr. The Hon Terrance Drew, Sports Minister Samal Duggins, SKNFA Technical Director Lenny Taylor, SKNFA General Secretary Techell Mclean, Senior Men's National Team Manager Jamir Claxton and National Team Coach Austin Huggins.
Makélélé, who was born in the Democratic Republic of Congo, expressed his pleasure at being the new Technical Advisor. “Football in this country is very important to me because I love this sport,” said the former player who was appointed technical mentor at Chelsea in 2019.
“It gave me many things in my life. It changed me and I want to give back.”
Prime Minister, the Honourable Dr. Drew, meanwhile, commended the SKNFA for taking this initiative of appointing Makélélé to this important role.
“This is the type of innovation, forward-thinking that we are looking for to develop sports,” Dr. Drew said. “I want to thank you for heeding the call from SKNFA to come to St. Kitts.”
The sports minister thanked SKNFA President Harris for the progress he has made in transforming football in St. Kitts and Nevis. Bringing Makélélé in as technical advisor is a step in the right direction. “We do not lack talent. We never did. We lacked the right training and expertise and to have a legend on our shores to impart his knowledge and experience, I think this is a step in the right direction,” the sports minister.
The man who was known as ‘The Octopus’ during his playing days because of his ability to cover ‘every blade of grass’ on a football field, has also served as an assistant manager at PSG and Swansea City and was a technical director at Monaco.
The Sugar Boyz are set to do battle against French St. Martin in Anguilla on March 23, after which they take on Aruba at Warner Park on March 27.
The St. Kitts and Nevis Football Association (SKNFA) has delivered on its promise to provide a club grant of up to EC$25,000 to each member club as part of its mandate to raise the standard of football in St. Kitts and Nevis.
Dubbed SKNFA Grant 4.0 the largesse amounts to $EC650,000, the largest solidarity grant by any national sporting association to its membership in that country.
The SKNFA Grant program is a means for the SKNFA to provide financial support to all its member clubs to assist in the improvement of their technical developmental and administrative capabilities.
Through the program, the SKNFA aims to build a stronger foundation for the growth of the game in St. Kitts and Nevis.
The clubs will be responsible for reporting how the funds were spent during the football calendar.
MRFC Old Road United Jets and SOL IAS Conaree FC threw down gauntlets to the rest of the SKNFA Premier League, with resounding victories on Sunday at the Warner Park.
Conaree FC dismissed Elco Ltd Security Forces 3-0 in the early kick off at 2pm with goals from Quanieki Clarke in the third, Nicquan Phipps in the 53rd and Ilivity Pemberton 76th.
In the day’s other match, Tiquanny Williams signaled his intent to become the league’s top scorer for a second straight season, scoring a hat-trick while leading Old Road to a 4-0 victory over St. Peters.
Williams scored in the second, a penalty kick in the 24th and added a third in the 29th in the rout while Niquan Browne scored from the spot in the 65th.
Coach Alexis Morris of Old Road, said the manner of his team’s victory is a message sent to the rest of the league that Old Road is a team to be reckoned with.
“It’s a step in the right direction and I must say, definitely it’s a statement for the other teams that O R, as I said before, is a team
to be reckoned with,” he said, adding that they have been practicing since December and are looking forward to a great season.
Meanwhile, Coach Austin “Dico” Huggins said a makeshift defensive unit was the reason for his team’s poor performance, especially in the first half after missing out on some of his best players because of injury.
“I think we were too relaxed. We had to play with a makeshift defense. Today (Sunday) was the first time that some of those guys played because we are now faced with a lot of injuries,” Huggins said. “We had to make the changes (Sunday) because from (Saturday’s) practice, we learned that some players would not be in because of injury. I think they did creditably well in the second half.”
In Saturday's games, defending SKNFA Premier League champions S. L. Horfords St. Paul’s United brushed aside Hobson Enterprises Garden Hotspurs 3-1 for their first win of the season on Saturday night.
In the second match of a double-header at Newtown, Ordell Flemming put St Paul’s ahead in the10th minute with Keithroy Freeman adding a second nine minutes later.
Despite having Jamal Jeffers sent off in the 53rd for denying an obvious goal-scoring opportunity, St Paul added a third via Malik Clarke’s the 68th minute strike before Jabez Dorsett scored a consolation in the 83rd.
Manager of St. Paul’s Austin Lewis said the team needed to make some adjustments after last week’s 0-0 draw with Old Road and was pleased with the performance Saturday night.
Meanwhile, Spurs Assistant Coach Rohan Browne, said the team’s preparation for the match was affected following an incident in their community during the week.
In the opening match on Saturday, Newtown United emerged victors in their clash with Jones Group Sandy Point FC during a tension-filled in which each team had a player sent off.
Sandy Point's Jahlyan Burt and Leranje Liburd of Newtown were both shown red cards for violent conduct in the 23rd minute.
In terms of actual football Kennedy Rodriquez opened the scoring in the 11th minute from the penalty spot before Yohannes Mitcham doubling the lead just before the interval.
Anthony Alves pulled one back for Sandy Point in the 63rd minute.
Coach Anthony “Nets” Isaac of Newtown, was understandably pleased with outcome.
“We see the stuff (we practice) coming out in the game. It’s not a hundred percent, but we are getting there,” he said.
Shane Jeffers, the Assistant Manager of the Sandy Point FC, believed his team was competitive but failed to find a second goal.
“We basically gave ourselves a chance in the second half. We had to make some changes—two red cards in the first half on either team. A few adjustments from the coach in the second half and we bore fruit to that,” Jeffers said.
St. Kitts and Nevis Football Association (SKNFA) and La Liga club Cádiz C.F. announced a partnership on Thursday that will see young players from St. Kitts and Nevis getting professional and developmental opportunities at the Spanish club.
Cádiz (Cádiz Club de Fútbol, S.A.D.) is a Spanish professional football club based in Cádiz, Andalusia. Founded in 1910, the club competes in the La Liga, the Spanish top flight league where it hosts matches at Nuevo Mirandilla.
The announcement of the potentially game-changing partnership was made at the Royal St. Kitts Hotel Conference Room where the President of the SKNFA Atiba Harris and the International Director of Football at Cádiz C.F., Enrique Martinez Perez, signed the agreement.
Also present at the signing was the First Vice President of the SKNFA Sean White, who is also the head of the SKNFA Marketing Committee.
Mr Harris said this opportunity will benefit both male and female youth players. He described the partnership as being significant as it will provide opportunities for local players pursuing pathways to professional careers.
“I think the dream for many of our players is to go to college or become professional footballers, so to formulate this agreement with Cadiz Football Club, a La Liga Club, it’s a realistic opportunity for our young players to have a realistic, standardized pathway to chase their dreams and become the next professional footballer or the many professional footballers in years to come,” said Mr. Harris, who incidentally signed his first professional contract with Cadiz almost two decades ago.
“Cadiz happened to be my first professional club. When I was 18 years old, I left the Federation to embark on a journey and today, 19 years later, we have an agreement that we are about to formulate with Cádiz Football Club and the SKNFA to make a standardized pathway for our youth players, to have a professional career possible.”
He added that the agreement would also help to raise the standard of football in St. Kitts and Nevis.
Meanwhile, Mr Martinez-Perez explained that under the agreement, Cadiz will take players from St Kitts and Nevis to Spain to provide them with opportunities.
“We will try to develop the talent we have here and they will have the opportunity in our club, Cadiz, to develop all their skills,” Martinez-Perez said.
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