Quashie focussed on development as he seeks ABFA post

Former national and Empire midfielder, Lennie Quashie, is hoping that he can bring a fresh perspective to the administration of football in Antigua & Barbuda.
The former Empire club president will contest for a vice president position during the May 22 Antigua & Barbuda Football Association (ABFA) elections scheduled to be held at the Multipurpose Cultural Centre.
His road to the ABFA, Quashie revealed, started with his decision to head the Empire executive.
“I was happy with what I was doing at Empire and I must admit as well that taking up the presidency at Empire was all part of the preparation for the [ABFA] presidency or even to serve at the national level. Unfortunately, some things happened there which I was not in agreement with in terms of administratively and I decided to exit,” he said.
“Moving from Empire to the national level in terms of the national association, I think that I will have a reach in terms of impacting the whole administration, the policies, the directives, the whole development of football on a larger scale as opposed to being restricted to the Empire environment,” he added.
The former player, arguably one of the best during his era, said his focus, should he find success at the polls, will be on the development of the female game.
“While I may agree that there are probably more females are playing football today than in years gone by, there is still a lot to be done. The whole quality of the female game and the administration as well, of the game,” Quashie said.
“Our females are playing everywhere because there is no proper facilities and it doesn’t take much. I heard Black in one of his interviews would have said that putting certain things at the venues, as simple as tents with covers at the sides so that the females could go and change at halftime, before and after games and porta-potties for them to use the facilities there,” he added.
Quashie gave the current administration some credit for the work it has done over the past eight years adding, it was time to build and improve on the strengths of the game here.
“I am not saying that football is totally bad in every aspect but I think there are some areas we need to develop on. The home for football in terms of the Antigua Recreation Ground and even the Paynters project where I drove through a few Saturdays ago and I saw a lot of kids enjoying the facility but as I looked around I sort of wondered what is really the overall plan for that so that’s an area — in terms of having a proper facility — that we can call our own,” he said.
The former law enforcement officer will contest the elections as part of the Keithroy Black slate.
Black is one of three challengers going up against the current president, Everton Gonsalves, who is seeking a third straight term in office.