Like any organisation, the BVI Football Association is made up of different groups that perform various functions.  We have Players, Clubs, Teams, Leagues, Referees, Referees Associations, Coaches, Trainers, Technical Departments, Managers, Administrations, Committees, Ordinary members, Professional members, Honorary Members, Auditors, Regional and International Governing bodies. All these groups are made up of people associated under the common bond of football, but structured and controlled by the constitution of the BVI Football Association.  

The different functional groups are needed as part of the structure of the football association. The structure of the association must not be established on the functions only, but more so, on the task to be accomplished.

The clubs make up the backbone of the association, and are directly responsible for the development of the players, technicians, leagues, and the leaders.  In the past, the executive committee tried to encourage the teams registered in our leagues to be organised as clubs.  There was a general lack of interest by the teams, and also a lack of leadership in putting the necessary administrative work in place to structure themselves into clubs.  

 We currently have teams registered with the BVIFA, with full voting rights that do not satisfy the regulations of the BVIFA constitution governing membership.  Most teams are managed by a dominant figure that makes all the necessary arrangements and decisions on behalf of the team.  This type of structure is not conducive to the development of leadership. The team could disintegrate if that dominant person steps down or is no longer interested in running the team.   It also helps to weaken the democratic process of the association, by cutting out the voice of most of the members of the teams from the decision making process.

To facilitate growth and development, the structure of the BVIFA would always depend on the clubs.   In order for football to be played and developed to meet the task of producing competitive national teams, we elect a Board of Directors to formulate strategic plans and to manage these plans to accomplishments. It would be imperative that the management of football makes it mandatory for all clubs to first satisfy the constitution before they are given full membership and voting rights. This will help football in the long run by maintaining continuity of the clubs and their entrenchment in the community.

Community-base football must be structure around developing leagues in the three main areas of East End, Road Town, and Virgin Gorda.  The importance of domestic competition should never be overlooked or underestimated.  The strength of any national team can be correlated to the level of their domestic league.  From school leagues to community leagues to national leagues, they all help to transform players’ techniques to skills, and sharpen their competitive edge for international competitions.

It is generally felt throughout the association that we should train young players (boys and girls), but no club or team seems to be interested or capable of developing their own young players.  In most football-playing countries, clubs provide youth schemes within the community that they are based to develop and recruit young players. At present, the BVIFA Technical Department is training all children enrolled in the Youth Development programme, selecting and training the BVI Youth teams, and organising teams for youth tournaments.  This over burdening of work on the staff coaches has caused the programme to deteriorate with a visible slow development on the level of skills.

Our youth are our main resources.   If we are to develop national teams, we have to recruit them, provide them with the best coaches, and make their experience a pleasant and learning one.  So naturally, we have to take as priority number one, the targeting of the schools for players.   The clubs could be a great help in this endeavour by adopting a school in the primary school league, and forging a bond with young players.

A vibrant primary school league was set as a goal of the BVI Football Association from 1999 and was fully realised from 2003 to 2007.   The league was well received by the private sector and the BVI government.  This cumulated in the BVI Youth and Sport Affairs Department adopting the Primary School League.  The involvement of the clubs in the management and development of this league would go a long way in cementing its continuity and building a bound between young players and the clubs, and between the BVIFA and the community.  The final stage of our youth development programme should be the development of community youth league, played in all three-league venues, during the summer, and a high school league, played between schools or within the different school athletics houses.

With the establishment of the different youth leagues, the establishment of a BVI Youth Soccer Organisation could be the energy that is needed to move youth development forward.  This could incorporate parents and teachers into an influential organisation that could make the BVI Football Association a respected organisation in the community. 

In my next issue I will continue to look at structure, organisation, and the relationship between football and the community.

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