Published 22 December 2022
Basseterre
Buckie Got It, St Kitts Nevis News Source
Please see attached press releases and photos from the SKNFA.
ELEVEN SKN MATCH OFFICIALS APPROVED BY FIFA
St. Kitts and Nevis created history with the confirmation of 11 football match officials from the
Federation as FIFA match officials. This is the first time so many match officials from St. Kitts
and Nevis have been chosen as FIFA match officials—a feat unmatched anywhere else in the
Caribbean or Central America. Head of the SKNFA Referees Department Malcolm Ramsey,
highlighted the importance of this moment.
“It is a big deal. Really a big deal,” Ramsey said. “This is one of the things that I can say I am
really satisfied with. The only thing that can exceed this is when one of our match officials gets
to the World Cup one of these days and that is something I think is going to happen in the not-
too-distant future,” he concluded.
The match officials are Kimbell Ward, Tristley Bassue, Trevester Richards, Shandor Wilkinson,
Reginald Gumbs, Sanchez Bass, and assistant referees: Graeme Browne, Mario Parry, Tyra
Wilkinson, Lenroy Parris, and Jaden Rouse.
SUGAR GIRLZ BEGIN TRAINING AT SKNFA TECHNICAL CENTER
Women players during training at the SKNFA Technical Center recently.
Training has begun for St. Kitts and Nevis Senior Women’s Team ahead of international
competitions in 2023. Coach of the Women’s team Samuel Phipps admitted that it is a bit
challenging now to get all the female players out to training, but he expects the pace to pick up
soon. “It’s a bit of a struggle to get the girls out to train at this moment. You know the time of
year; and plus, the time of day…most of them have a job but we are trying to alternate the timing
and try to get them out early in the mornings, and on the weekends; so we can get them out to train
and get with the program,” Phipps said. “I think it’s an intense program that we have and the
girls that are here are liking it,” he added.
The girls are training at the SKNFA Technical Center in St. Peters on an artificial turf, similar to
that of other international teams around the world. The facility is perfect and ideal for training,
explains Coach Phipps. “I think it’s a beautiful facility; there is no distraction. When we are at
the Warner Park, have all sorts of distractions but here we can concentrate on what the coaches
are trying to do,” he said. Coach Phipps praised the fact that the field is furnished with an
artificial turf based on international standards, which is similar to fields they play on for
international competitions. “A lot of time we go out there and play on (surfaces like this), but we
didn’t have a surface like this to train on. Now we have a beautiful facility to train on—Astro turf,
so I think that’s a beautiful thing also.”
The SKNFA Technical Director has stressed the importance of having the all-national teams
train according to on singular football philosophy, which will improve the standard of football
in the Federation. He also made it clear that the women’s team will also be treated equally in this
regard.
SKNFA TECHNICAL DIRECTOR DEVELOPING FOOTBALL
PHILOSOPHY FOR SKN
Players in training under the watchful eye of SKNFA Technical Director Lenny
Taylor at the Technical Center in St. Peters.
The SKNFA Technical Center in St. Peters, in its short existence so far, has proven to be a real
asset to football development in St. Kitts and Nevis. Boasting an artificial turf field, tantamount
to international standards, the center is the home of football training for the national youth teams
on a regular basis. SKNFA Technical Director Lenny Taylor, at a recent training session of U-14
and U17 teams said the center is a perfect venue for training and preparing the players. “The
younger players look up to the older players and when they see the older players doing the
correct thing, it will inspire them to do the same. All players will know the position they play,
and the roles and responsibilities of the position…if all teams are playing the same system; the same
philosophy of play, then it is easier to catch the fire across the program because it would not be
just kicking the football, but performing the roles and the duties each player have to play in their
position.”
Mr. Taylor spoke about the new thrust in preparing national teams months in advance of
international competitions and training. This augurs well for the youth teams, as it gives them
more time to learn the fundamentals of football, develop team chemistry, and ultimately excel on
the international stage. Mr. Taylor explains the significance of this new development and how
the technical center is playing a role in achieving this.
“Absolutely, the coaches are understanding the methodology and all coaches would want to
approach from the same generally acceptable principle; so that when they leave the Under 14 to
the under 15, it’s just a repetition, with a higher technical challenge than they were under 14,” he
said. “It’s coming on well…We believe within the year, St. Kitts and Nevis football will be
different.”
Coach of the Senior Women’s National team Samuel Phipps agrees with this unified football
philosophy. “That is important when you are stepping from team to team…so that you could fit
into that philosophy and play that brand of football. I think a brand of football is important for
our country,” Phipps said.
This new thrust is bound to produce great results. Earlier this year, the U17 male team, with just
two to three months to prepare, was just one win short of qualifying for the CONCACAF
Championships. With this vast and longer preparation, there is no doubt they should do even
better in future competitions. It is not hard to see the new direction of the SKNFA Executive in
improving the development of the sport in St. Kitts and Nevis.
SIGNS OF IMPROVEMENT AMONG PLAYERS IN SKNFA YOUTH ACADEMY
Players in the SKNFA Youth Academy listen attentively to one of the coaches Alexis
Morris, while Technical Director Lenny Taylor looks on.
Players in the U-14 and U17 national teams are showing signs of improvement, according to one
of the coaches in the SKNFA Youth Academy Travis Somersall. While at a recent training
session at the SKNFA Technical Center in St. Peters, Mr. Somersall noted that the players, for
the past seven weeks, are trained on the mental aspect of football. “We’ve been training for eight
weeks and we’ve seen tremendous improvement with some of the players. Some are more advanced
than some but need the training because this training is more about brain-centered training, so we
are getting them to think than to play with the feet,” Somersall explained.
The response to the training has been good, according to Somersall. “We started with the U-14
and we invited to the 17s and now we are moving on to the Senior Men and then to the female
side of the football,” he disclosed. He praised the SKNFA Technical Center as the ideal for a place
for training as it is devoid of distractions and the artificial turf is of a high standard. “You get to
do the work you need efficiently, rather than having distractions,” Coach Somersall said.
Meanwhile, Haim Isles, one of the players with the Academy, said he has been learning a lot from
the training. “Just having us repeat it over and over and over, for it to stick; they are training us
well…. Right now, I am improving. I’m doing better and better each time I come and I am
hoping to stay consistent and keep training,” Isles said.
The SKNFA has mandated that the youth teams begin preparations well in advance of
international competitions. Training has been done for the past seven weeks at the SKNFA
Technical Center that boasts artificial turf.
