US-Based Former National Player Says His Applications, Offers To Assist Ignored by Antiguan Officials

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Former national striker Conrad “Boast” Whyte (right) said he is willing to make a contribution to the schools’ football league. (Social media photo)
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By Neto Baptiste

Former national and Empire striker Conrad “Boast” Whyte said he has, on several occasions, offered his services to both the Ministry of Sports as a consultant and applied for the national head coaching position through the national football association, but is yet to receive acknowledgement of receipt from either body.

Now an A licensed coached at a Division One college in the USA, White, while speaking on the Good Morning Jojo Sports Show on Tuesday, said he met with the country’s sports minister, Daryll Matthew, in December last year and offered his services, free of cost.

He has applied to the Antigua and Barbuda Football Association on two separate occasions.

“Twice I’ve actually applied for the national head coach job and I was never called for an interview, I was never answered at all in terms of a letter back saying we don’t need you or anything. I’ve actually spoken to the minister of sports and told him I would like to be a consultant for the schools’ league because I think I can help and this is a non-paying consultancy, so yes, I offered my services for free so these are things I’ve done behind the scenes that people don’t really know about,” he said.

Whyte, who has won the Premier Division’s scoring title on several occasions with the Empire FC here, is first assistant at the Merrimack College in Massachusetts.

The former Westham FC head coach said part of his aim was to expose the ministry of sports to scholarship possibilities to schools in this US.

“If you think about college, high school, and if we can get a kid up here to go to a private high school which is funded by someone who sponsors because they do it from Africa all the time, so my thing was that if I could be a consultant to that schools’ league then I could give you all this information that is not readily available to you down there but that has not come to fruition, I’ve not been given a call back and so I just left it like that,” he said. 

Whyte said he felt like the air needed to be cleared after being asked on numerous occasions as to why he has not sought to give back to Antigua from a football standpoint.

“At some point you have to say something because people are saying that, oh you’re successful over there and you’re doing all this stuff and you do nothing to help us and I’ve just heard it and I’ve left it alone, but on more than one occasion I’ve offered my services to construct a schools’ league or to help construct the schools league and the only cost they would have to bear is the cost of flying me home,” the former player said. Whyte is also owner of the Carisamba Soccer Academy, and the head coach of the America FC United team.

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