Déjà vu over and over again

Two editions ago, this column’s exposition focused on the realities of St Vincent and the Grenadines’ Senior Men’s Football team, Vincy Heat’s participation in Group F of the 2026 Concacaf World Cup Qualifiers.

As proffered in that exposition, the Vincentians would have been up against it, in their two-match sojourn to Suriname, where they met the host on June 5, and El Salvador, June 9, 2024.

That prediction was confirmed as Vincy Heat lost to Suriname 1-4, and went under to El Salvador, 1-3.

What though would have irked the Vincentian supporters, was the manner of the defeats, as Vincy Heat did not exhibit that belongingness to that level of competition.

It was a clear indication that the style of play that is being adopted has not been grasped to any level of acceptance by the players, hence, the process is taking longer to be fully embraced and executed.

While one understands that new ideas and approaches take time to be rooted, our bad situation is compounded and exacerbated by the inexperienced players at the disposal of the Theon Gordon- led technical staff.

This is indeed not the players’ undoing, nor want for being better ambassadors; but the general lack of direction, structure, and capacity of most stake holders, leave them many years behind.

So, what was unravelled in Suriname a week ago, is no strange occurrence to those who have been following St Vincent and the Grenadines’ Football over the past three decades.

We often get sucked in by the flashes of brilliance from our players in the national competitions and in the community leagues, but become crest fallen when they are required to show their wares outside the confines of St Vincent and the Grenadines.

Putting things into proper perspective, the sport has not advanced such that we are considered a force to be reckoned with even at the Concacaf level.

Yes, we have had some good efforts in the Concacaf World Cup qualifiers, as was the case in 2004, and even before that qualification for the 1996 Concacaf Gold Cup in the USA.

Unfortunately, successive Football administrations have not come to grips with the demands of entering World Cup Qualifiers, hence, the forward planning and thinking are sporadic, or in some instances, non- existent.

Therefore, the recurring decimal is in effect at this time as there is always the finger pointing and rightly so, at the administrators of Football, those past and present.

Over time, we have changed presidents, technical directors, national coaches and obviously players, and nothing seems to be improving in the trajectory of the sport.

In all the changes, readjustments and innovations, no administration has nailed down and implemented in any shape or form, a comprehensive and well-structured nation-wide Youth Development Programme.

Instead, there have been pockets of development by individuals, some with just the sheer commitment and little financial backing nor networking to get their programmes well in train.

That type of piecemeal, hit and miss approach towards Football development cannot stand up to others who have gone the route from an early age of proper planning, investing in coaches’ education and the willingness to spend FIFA’s monies on the areas of priority.

Hence, the wheel has turned again, and St Vincent and the Grenadines’ Football is under the surgeon’s knife.

The prognosis is clear, that a different direction must be the choice and people with the right mindset and fervour for the sport must be involved in that turnaround.

Heading the remedial prescription is the investment and implementation of a Youth Development Programme, encompassing the schools, communities, and the establishment of academies across the country.

These developments go hand in hand with the thrust towards improving the Football facilities, as well as fast tracking our coaches’ education.

Also needed is a better structured National Club Championships, more so, a Semi-professional League, where players are groomed in a setting that fosters a greater understanding and love for the sport, where a Football culture will be a natural phenomenon.

These are just some of the must do things NOW, if we do not want to have this type of discourse in 2034.