by Carlena Knight
Newly appointed Technical Director of the Antigua and Barbuda Football Association (ABFA) Sowerby Gomes noted that one area of focus that is at the top of the list is the female programme.
The former national player turned coach shared his pleasure with the ongoing preparations for the female national teams, but mentioned that the technical skill still needs to be addressed.
This he believes will help the players and the programme to flourish in the long run.
“Our preparation has been going good in terms of the female, but I would like to have a greater balance in terms of coaches. I think the number of coaches we have with the number of girls we are working with, we may need to increase that by adding two more coaches to help because I see more technique needs to be worked on and coordination, so we might need to spend a little bit more time with that,” Gomes said.
“In order for the girls to last in the game, not just play today but that we can have a stronger team for tomorrow we need to drill in the basic techniques and that technique will take them further in the game.”
He spoke on the importance of the female programme and the opportunities aligned for players.
“The female game is very critical for us because we recognise an avenue that can take our female football much faster and further than the males. Our female team was able to reach a particular distance in the qualifying without a long-range female programme. Just before the pandemic, the programme was booming and we are hoping to get back to that,” he added.
Gomes’ appointment was made public on July 2 by the ABFA while former national goalkeeper Kelesha Antoine was named head of the referees’ department.
His appointment is for three years as he fills the position left vacant following the passing of Rolston ‘Debu’ Williams who died in October last year following a bout of illness.