
The Saint Lucia Football Association (SLFA) says it is committed in moving ahead with its developmental goals and policies.
Lyndon Cooper, the Associationâs president was asked about the impact seminars and training sessions had on members and affiliates, and their effectiveness in passing knowledge.
âDue to all the training that we have done in the last two years, we have seen an improvement in the areas of deficiency, and we anticipate that those programmes are going to correct those shortcomings for us. Basically, it has been taking too long because of the pandemic and the slowness in reopening the structures,â said Cooper.
The coaches, he said, are responding favourably to the latest levels of certification, and have been receiving commendable feedback as they impart knowledge of the game and effective training sessions to their respective clubs.
âIt has been good since we have been achieving our objective in terms of getting coaches that want to coach in the national set up to be certified âŠbecause there is a day coming that only certified or qualified persons are going to be able to sit on a bench in an organized or sanctioned SLFA competition,â the SLFA president explained.
Cooper adds that the coaching sessions have allowed for an improvement in the standard of football on the island, in order to push through with the implementation of the SLFAâs strategic plans.
Lately, there have been reports alleging internal disputes between the SLFA and some club affiliates and referees. Cooper says that while the ârumor millâ has been churning out more disputations against the association, there is a lot of hidden evidence that the complaining parties have not brought to the fore, in order to provide clarity on those matters.
In response to reports that a few clubs were sanctioned by the SLFA for non-compliance to specific rules and regulations, Cooper denies that any club was subjected to such disciplinary measures.
âNo clubs were sanctioned âŠthatâs not true, and thereâs absolutely no truth to that,â he declared. The SLFA boss claims that there were no âdisciplinary lettersâ issued to the clubs and dares any of the club representatives to provide copies of these letters.
In the build-up to the World Cup Qualifiers (WCQs) amongst regional states, the SLFA was put under pressure concerning Saint Luciaâs non-participation in these qualifiers. However, currently the SLFAâs technical team is preparing several national teams to compete in tournaments over the next year or so.
Cooper explained that arrangements to appoint a head coach has been on the cards since January this year, but âthe negotiations are taking longer than anticipatedâ.
He said currently, the focus is being directed âon all the teams that are active in 2022 for regional and international engagements.â
Some of the major upcoming tournaments for the year will include CONCACAF U-14, CONCACAF U-15, CFU U-15, and the Nations League.
Summing up the associationâs programmes over the past four to five years, Cooper said, âThe SLFA has achieved over 98% of its programmes and its strategic planâ.
However, he laments that âWhat we have not managed to achieve is to qualify for a World Cup [FIFA], and that is where the âsticking pointâ is for the SLFA leadership.â
Moving forward, the SLFA president asserted that the associationâs ultimate goal is to have a national representative team qualify for the World Cup. Subsequently, he says: âWe want to take a look at the strategic plan next year and see if we have to change it. But itâs my intention to make a number of pronouncements when we go in two or three weeksâ time to our annual congress âŠwhere we discuss the strategic vision of the SLFA.â