By Neto Baptiste
Technical director for the Antigua and Barbuda Football Association (ABFA), Sowerby Gomes, said he has been pushing for the introduction of competitions at the youth level in an effort to provide young players with adequate game exposure.
Speaking on the Good Morning Jojo Sports Show, Gomes said the push started sometime back but was shelved because of the ongoing pandemic.
“We are looking at underage competitions and that has been before the executive and it’s just a matter of time, but because of all these tournaments coming one after the other and we also have to remember we’re just coming out of a pandemic where everything was on lockdown and now, right after the pandemic we had all these tournaments coming after the other so it is no way the ABFA, using one particular field, can prepare all these teams and still host youth leagues carrying on at the same time,” he said.
A former national and Villa Lions defender, Gomes is hopeful to see the start of at least one competition before the end of 2022.
“An under-15 youth league with all the various academies in Antigua and all the clubs taking part in that particular youth league which would be mandatory so that we could look and see development taking place, and that would be one of the hallmarks going forward in terms of the ABFA putting on a youth league, and I am looking at it happening before the end of this year,” the TD said.
Asked about his performance so far as technical director given recent poor performances by national teams, Gomes said he expected that the job would not have been a walk in the park.
“When I came in to take this particular task I knew there was going to be challenges and the challenges are real challenges, and these are the moments that allow me now to take every particular moment and every particular tournament we play in and every particular game that these young players would take part in and say how do we develop better coaches. It’s an ongoing process, ongoing development and I think, honestly, I am built for it, and with the grace of God, his protection and guidance, he would just guide me through,” he said.
Antigua and Barbuda finished third in Group D with four points in the recent Concacaf under-17 qualifiers. Hosts Nicaragua finished at the top of the group with a perfect nine points from three matches while Belize was second with four point but a superior goal difference than that of Antigua and Barbuda.