Minister Duggins reaffirms commitment to clean sport; signs “Kingston Declaration”
Kingston, Jamaica. January 17, 2024. St. Kitts and Nevis’ Minister of Sport, the Creative Economy et al., Hon. SamalDuggins, joined other regional Ministers of Sport and top-level officials from the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) at the Third Forum with Ministers Responsible for Sport in the Caribbean, for a two-day symposium (Jan 16 and 17), in Jamaica. The convention focused on further harmonizing the region’s approach to clean sport.
SKNFA TO LAUNCH FIFA TALENT DEVELOPMENT SCHEME (TDS)
The St. Kitts Nevis Football Association (SKNFA) will be launching the FIFA backed Talent Development Scheme (TDS) on Tuesday January 16, where it will scout for talent to be involved in the program. Lenny Taylor, SKFNA Technical Director explained what will happen on Tuesday. “We are beginning (the trial (period) on Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday in Cayon, the opening of the trial period. And in the trial period, we are going to be looking for players who will qualify themselves to come to the national center, which is here at the Technical Center. The ones who are not qualified or ready for the National Academy will go back (to their training base) and continue training four days a week,” he explained.
TGE Dieppe Bay Eagles Youth Stars and St. Peters FC won the remaining two SKNFA Youth League titles for 2023 on Friday December 22 at the SKNFA Technical Center. Dieppe Bay took the SKNFA Premier Youth Cup U-13 title after defeating Bath United 5-4 on penalties, while St. Peters edged Bath United 1-0 to win the U-15 title. Dieppe Bay were pegged back 1-0 after Bathscored early in the second half.
But in the dying moments of the match, Dieppe Bay earned an equalizer to send the match into penalties. In the end, Dieppe Bay prevailed to win 5-4 on penalties and 6-5 final score. Coach Kalia Huggins was elated and praised her players for their resilience and determination. “We had set up to do four days a week training, non-stop, coming from afar and just pressuring these boys to either take the licks (defeat), not cry, determination and just (show) sportsmanship,” she said.
“Some of the boys, after the semi-finals were tired, but I’ll tell you one thing, they persevered to the end.”
In the U-15 finals, Bath United was unfortunate again to lose a second finals in one day, when they were edged 1-0 thanks to a penalty early in the first half, due to a handball committed in the box. Coach Jacquan Hazel of St. Peters praised the players and the fans and said this win means a lot to the community of Monkey Hill, St. Peters.
“It means a lot to the community because the community has been waiting for such joy and appreciation. I would like to say thanks to the community,” he said. The victory just shows that the youths came together and they really wanted this one.” So, with that, the 2023 domestic football season ends with two exciting SKNFA Youth League finals.
YOUNG SUGAR BOYS WIN ONE OF TWO PRACTICE MATCHES VERSUS THE BVI
The Young Sugar Boys U20 team won one of two practice matches this past weekend against the British Virgin Islands held at the SKNFA Technical Center. The home side drew 0-0 in the first match on Saturday December 16, which commenced at 5pm, but edged the visitors 1-0 the following day. Coach of the U-20 team Alexis Morris, comprehensively assessed the team’s performance over the two matches. “Basically, we came out here with just a simple goal in mind… do some simple things that we would have done in training,” Coach Morris said.
2023 FOOTBALL SEASON ENDS WITH DOUBLE YOUTH LEAGUE FINALS
The finalists have been decided for the SKNFA Premier Youth Cup U-13 and the Atiba Harris U-15 league, both slated for Friday December 22. In the U-15 League, Bath United shocked Cayon 2-1 to book their spot, with all three goals scored in the first half. Both teams ended the match with 10 players after being issued red cards.
