BASSETERRE, St. Kitts – THE St. Kitts-Nevis Football Association (SKNFA) is hoping for CONCACAF to provide greater assistance to local football.
Speaking recently with SKNVibes Sports, President of the SKNFA Anthony Johnson explained that during 2014 the association would reach out to the zonal body for further assistance to develop the game and to cover the national team’s expense when it ventures to regional or international matches.
He stated that one of the challenges the association faces is the high cost attached to sending a team to major competitions, whether it be gears or airfare.
This proposal, he said, would be put forward at CONCACAF’s General Assembly Meeting in August of this year.
“We expect greater assistance to be provided! For instance, with our national teams when they travel. One of the issues that we have had over the years is the cost of travel for our national teams and I know that President Webb has committed to assisting, particularly with the youth and women teams when they travel,” Johnson explained.
He declared that they would be provided with us$10 000, adding that he hopes that figure would “increase overtime, because it is a real bottleneck on the association in having to travel to the various tournaments. And that is one of the areas that we hope to see some increased involvement.
He said that with the recent launch of the Grassroots and Coaching Programmes, they (the programmes) would further strengthen the SKNFA’s position in coaching and this adds to the cooperation CONCACAF has with it member states.
“Having an institute like CONCACAF involved can only help to raise the standard and we are happy that CONCACAF is involved. And it is expect that they would continue to partner with us over the many years to come,” Johnson said.
The President stressed that the recent Grassroots Programme is qualified for the Final of the Caribbean Cup and Gold Cup in 2015 as being a part of the association’s wider strategic plan.
“We cannot achieve Gold Cup without Grassroots, we cannot achieve Gold Cup without increased standard at the club level, and we cannot achieve Gold Cup without our local coaches moving from just being educated. All of these are components which would come together. And at the end of it we would achieve a greater standard for our football in St. Kitts and Nevis,” President Johnson explained.
