We have?just elected another president to lead the Barbados Football Association (BFA).
Several high-powered people have been calling for fresh blood and new ideas to catapult us out of the doldrums and into the land of milk and honey. In the past, a lot has been promised but little has been delivered.
We stand at a moment in time that is critical to football. We are at our lowest FIFA ranking ever and the standard of play seems to be getting worse.
This is no fault of the players but a reflection of the lack of investment in football in the past 20 years. We can’t afford to have more of the same but a revolution of ideas and actions.
Football is the most played sport in Barbados with the average boy or girl dreaming of playing professionally some day. Why is it that this can’t become a reality?
Some people say we are not good enough; we have no clear pattern of play (and) our boys are not fit enough.
Although some of these may hold true at certain times, they can be overcome by vision, funding and the creation of opportunities. This is where the big man steps in – the president.
The BFA president has a unique role to play. He is responsible for both leading and managing. He has to also have a qualified management team to help him.
I am eager to hear what the strategic, tactical and operational plans are going to be (and) how is the BFA going to be structured.
A lot of people have their own opinion of the problems football in Barbados faces, but are we shooting in the dark?
Do we plan to benchmark the industry? Are we prepared to carry out a case study on football to determine the core problem and satellite problems, so when we shoot, we know what we are aiming at?
We can’t afford to have more of the same. This is a time for change if we want to go forward.
We must stop seeing football as a sport and start taking it as a profession. In England, it is reported that the television rights for the Premiership between 2013 and 2016 is worth about £3 billion (BDS$9.7 billion) (source: www.soccerlens.com).
This highlights the amount of money football can generate with the right vision and proposals laid down at the top level. We here could see figures in the millions.
I will be looking forward to seeing investments made in coach education for all coaches and not a select few; investments also at the grass roots level through to the senior level (male and female); dedicated football fields; football coaches for secondary school, as I believe this is where we lose a lot of our players, and an elite national academy where you prepare some of the best players to play professional football internationally.
These would have great benefits for the national teams, for the individual, and his/her family and for the economy.
A substantial increase in prize money for all leagues would also make football more appealing.
Funding is critical to any organization. In the past, I would hear we have no funds, so we are/were unable to do this/that, but I think if you have a quality product that is also offering returns it shouldn’t be hard to attract investment. The BESS Tournament and LIME Pelican Challenge are examples.
The time is right and ripe for something momentous to happen, so over to you, Mr President.
• Chris Graham is a former Barbados Defence Force and Youth Milan footballer.
