By Neto Baptiste
There must be widespread consultation with all stakeholders when mapping the way forward for football in Antigua and Barbuda.
This is the belief of technical director for the Antigua and Barbuda Football Association (ABFA), Rolston Williams, who said the responsibility of putting a national plan for football in place should not solely rest on the shoulders of the technical director.
“It’s not the technical director alone who can come up with a national philosophy. A national philosophy has to include all members of the football association which includes all of the academies because this is a vision for Antigua’s football and the technical director alone cannot have a vision for a national philosophy, it has to encompass all members, and when we have all the ideas and we have all hands on deck then we come up with a national philosophy,” he said.
According to Williams, the drafting of a national road map for football must also include members of the schools’ football programme and other key stake holders. Efforts, he said, are already being made to get the initiative off the ground.
“I’ve already made recommendations for consultations to put on a course as it pertains to that, and to engage members as it pertains to a national philosophy. Everyone will be invited to give their views and to share their experiences and so all the stakeholders will be involved,” he said.
Williams has come under recent public scrutiny for statements regarding the ability of an all-local senior squad to get the desired results on both the regional and international platforms. The outspoken coach is however, standing by his statements.