Installation of East End/Long Look Football Stadium to kick off in October

September 26, 2016 by

By BVIFA

BVIFA president, Andy Bickerton and FIFA approved installation expert, Herbert Hammes review plans for the new artificial football pitch in East End / Long Look. Photo: BVIFA

BVIFA president, Andy Bickerton and FIFA approved installation expert, Herbert Hammes review plans for the new artificial football pitch in East End / Long Look. Photo: BVIFA

The installation of the artificial football pitch took a significant step forward last week with the arrival of Heribert Hammes, a FIFA approved installation expert, who has vast experience in overseeing such projects.

BVIFA President, Andy Bickerton was also on site and, following the end of a series of visits and meetings, declared that the project at East End / Long Look will re commence on October 17th, 2016 with a conclusion date slated for the end of January / early February, 2017.

The BVIFA was also pleased that everything went smoothly between all the parties and, with the forecast completion date for the installation and floodlights, is hopeful of staging the finals of the BDO Primary and BVIFA High School Leagues on a first class playing surface at the new stadium.

According to Mr. Bickerton, once the pitch and lights are installed then the next stage will be the ground floor of the main stand, which includes changing areas, office space and other amenities. The final stage will be the addition of seating and roofing over the stands.

Mr. Hammes hit the ground running after an early morning arrival from Puerto Rico and met with Mr. Bickerton as well as Mr. Dion Stoutt at the site in East End / Long Look.

Although there were some technical details to thrash out with the architect, generally Mr. Hammes was happy with the work done so far with leveling and compaction. The final markings to designate the parameters of the playing surface, drainage areas, grass track and floodlight pylons were all being assessed with the architect. Mr. Hammes also made suggestions on the depth and size of drainage pipes to allow for the most efficient removal of water, as well as the type of fill for the drainage and the way pitches are designed to slope.

Filed Under: Football Tagged With: ,

BVIFA National League underway

September 19, 2016 by

By BVIFA

Roger Roberts in orange fires home the winner for Sugar Boys against Panthers. Photo: BVIFA

Roger Roberts in orange fires home the winner for Sugar Boys against Panthers
Photo: BVIFA

The BVI Football Association 2016 /17 National League kicked off in fine style on Sunday 18th, September, in front of a large crowd and two exciting matches on the A.O. Shirley Ground.

The first game saw two teams, Panthers F.C. and Sugar Boys F.C. still rusty from pre-season, but playing entertaining football, in an encounter that for all the world seemed to be heading for a 0-0 stalemate, despite plenty of goal mouth action at either end.

As it was, the game was decided in the 84th minute when a neat interchange of passing in the midfield released Derrol Redhead out wide on the right. His cross then fell invitingly for Roger Roberts to steer home the only goal of the game and secure all three points for the Virgin Gorda based outfit.

The first half had been all about missed opportunity with Redhead going close a couple of times and bringing out some acrobatic saves from Edgbert Isaac. Terrence Nanton also had a first time volley dealt with spectacularly by the keeper.

At the other end, Omar Williams was millimeters away from getting his head on a cross from Shamoy Thompson, who himself had a shot blocked by Leslie Ambrose in the Sugar Boys goal.

The second game of the night saw an equally pulsating end to end game between the Islanders F.C. and One Love F.C. which was narrowly won, 2-1 by the defending champions, the Islanders.

The opening goal was a well-directed header by Islanders midfielder Julian Davidson, who rose high at the far post to nod home a Fitzroy Daley corner in the 29th minute, the lead though was short lived as in the 43rd minute Howard Hemmings took advantage of some hesitant Islanders defending to control a loose ball in the box and curl a delightful shot past the helpless Montgomery Butler.

The second half had a few clear cut chances apart from a one on one save from Butler as Carl Stewart burst through on goal, until McTair James calmly curled in from the edge of the box to make it 2-1 Islanders in the 78th minute.

Next Saturday, 24th September, the Wolues F.C. will play Old Madrid at 5pm, whilst at 7pm the Rebels F.C. take on Virgin Gorda United. On Sunday 25th September, the Panthers face One Love F.C. at 5pm and then at 7pm, the Islanders F.C. come up against the Sugar Boys, with all matches slated for the A.O. Shirley Recreation Ground.

The BVIFA National League is supported by Stag Beer, distributed in the Virgin Islands by Caribbean Cellars, and FLOW.

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BVIFA approves new approach for women’s football

September 16, 2016 by

By BVIFA

Photo: BVIFA

Photo: BVIFA

The new look Women’s Committee, spearheaded by Sharlene Pond, put the icing on the cake of its plans for a National Nine A side two division league, at a recent meeting, with the introduction of a brand new “Fair Play” award called the CAPS Leadership Award.

“The new initiative will encourage all teams to help the BVIFA lift the profile of girls’ soccer, break down the image that football is for boys and also encourage more and more females to be a part of a disciplined, fun environment designed to encourage empowerment, confidence and create opportunity to ‘Live Your Goals’,” noted Ms. Pond.

The CAPS Award will be presented to the team that incorporates Coaching professionalism, covering conduct, image and organization; Ability, including creativity, technical skills, tactical awareness and fitness; Punctuality; and Sportsmanship, entailing respect, fair play and team spirit.

The league, for the first time, will also have two divisions split across Seniors and U15 Youths.

“To ensure we increase participation and give everyone a chance to play, each of the established teams – Panthers, Ballstars, VG Utd and Avengers, will be responsible for a Junior team as well,”explained Pond.

Coaches will be heading into schools shortly to attract new players, which will form a development structure for the clubs and Pond is also hopeful of attracting the girls who train with the Manatees Club and John Riley.

Each division will offer prize money and individual awards such as MVP, Golden Boots and Golden Gloves. The senior division will also have a semifinals and final, whilst the youth division will be decided purely on a points structure.

Additionally, confirmed Pond, the youth division prize money will only be accessible to the winning clubs by presentation of their commitment plan towards a sustainable development process for the youths.

The Women’s National Nine a Side League kicks off on Saturday 15th October with an Opening Ceremony followed by the Panthers playing the Ballstars at 6.30pm.

On Sunday 16th October, the Junior Avengers will get action underway with a game against the Junior VG United team at 3pm

Games will then take place every Saturday and Sunday inter meshed with the Men’s National League, with the venue for all being the A.O. Shirley Ground.

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Future for Football looks bright – BVIFA

September 6, 2016 by

By BVI Platinum

The group of coaches, some of those who were recently successful in obtaining the D License Photo: Provided

The group of coaches, some of those who were recently successful in obtaining the D License
Photo: Provided

Coaches for primary and secondary school football leagues are being implored upon to encourage and motivate the young players, while being informed that the future of the sport in the BVI is now looking bright.

During a recent meeting, President of the BVI Football Association (BVIFA), Mr. Andy Bickerton and members of the Youth Committee engaged the coaches ahead of the opening of the 2016/17 school leagues.

The BDO Primary School and High School Leagues will both kick off on Wednesday, 12th October 2016 with the now traditional and much anticipated march through Road Town, along Waterfront Drive and to the A.O. Shirley Grounds.

Bickerton announced to the coaches, several of whom recently successfully completed CONCACAF ‘D’ licenses, that the association now has a clear pathway for youth from 5 years old to senior representative levels, but, with the coaches’ continued efforts, the programmes could only get stronger.

“I am optimistic for the future…The after school programme is already the envy of many other sports associations and combined with the Physical Literacy Programme, with its focus on encouragement and motivation, the future for the game is very bright,” said Bickerton.

Regionally, the game is also expanding with U13 competition joining the extensive programme.

“These youth competitions give added incentive for youths to play football, but also means we (the F.A.) have to invest more in our coaches,” Bickerton explained.

“We will be looking at holding a CONCACAF ‘C’or ‘D’ license early in 2017 and the F.A. executive is looking at issuing each coach with a contract and a curriculum, which will need to be followed and given feedback.”

Bickerton also informed the coaches that sponsors are being sought to join in the increased interest in football, with each of the school teams now available to individual sponsors.

Information on registering for F.A. youth programmes, school leagues and any of the many other possibilities offered by football, such as refereeing, can be obtained from the F.A.office, while information will also be delivered directly to schools from September 5th, 2016.

Filed Under: Football

BVIFA National League to kick off new season Sept 18

August 29, 2016 by

By VINO

The BVI Football Association's 2016/17 season begins with the National League on September 18, 2016. Photo: VINO

The BVI Football Association’s 2016/17 season begins with the National League on September 18, 2016. Photo: VINO

With the transfer deadline day fast approaching, member clubs of the British Virgin Islands Football Association (BVIFA) are all gearing up for the launch of the 2016/17 season, which begins with the National League.

Some ten clubs are expected to participate in the National League, which will run from September to late February 2017, with a mid-season Christmas break.

The Opening Ceremony is scheduled for September 18, 2016 on the A.O. Shirley Recreation Grounds, from 4:00 P.M. and will not only feature the usual speeches, but also two big games to get things started.

At 5:00 P.M. Sugar Boys will play Wolues and that game will be followed by Islanders taking on One Love at 7:00 P.M.

The BVIFA has also promised entertainment, food and refreshments on the day and the entrance fee is just $3.00 ($2 under 12).

The National League is just the start of a full calendar of football for the season, but with a total prize money of $11,000 it will be a hotly contested competition.

The last time the National League took place was three years ago, in 2014, when as a two tier premier league and division one. The Premier League Champions were the Islanders, who had also won the previous year’s championship and the division one title went to Old Madrid.

 

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Jamaica Triumph Over BVI in FLOW Nations Cup

July 19, 2016 by
Photo: BVIFA/Charlie E. Jackson

Photo: BVIFA/Charlie E. Jackson

The fan favourites Jamaica lifted the FLOW Nations Cup on Sunday 17th July, 2016 on the A.O. Shirley Ground, after a thrilling final saw them beat the BVI 2-1.

The Jamaicans went up half way through the first half courtesy of a strike from Sylvan Winter and in the second half a long range pile driver from Eric Campbell made it 2-0. The BVI refused to give up the cause and when Michael Baptichon scored his fifth goal of the Tournament to reduce the arrears, the large crowd sensed that they were in for a thrilling conclusion to a long day of action packed football.

However despite the best efforts of Golden Boot Winner and Tournament MVP, Baptichon, the Jamaicans held on to win.

Campbell was named Man of the Match for the Final and received a Samsung Smart phone from FLOW Managing Director Tim Ringsdoor, whilst his team received $2,000 in prize money, a trophy and individual medals.

Baptichon received a FLOW Alcatel Tablet, Trophies and $200 from the BVIFA and his team Runners Up medals as well as $1,000.

To reach the Champions podium, Jamaica had beaten St Lucia 4-2 on penalties after a dead locked 0-0 semi final in what was actually their second semi final in the double elimination format tournament.

First time of asking they had met the BVI and lost 1-0 to a Baptichon goal.

The Jamaicans had also beaten Guyana on penalties after a 1-1 draw with Guyana and thanks to a late wonderful exhibition of dribbling and finishing from Fitzroy Daley at the end of normal time.

The BVI had been inspired by the performances of Baptichon in the early rounds, cruising past St Kitts 2-0 with him scoring twice and dealing with St Vincent 2-1 with Baptichon again on the score sheet and Raul Roberts also scoring before Roger Roberts gave the Vincy a glimmer of soon to be extinguished hope.

St Lucia were valiant losing semi finalists having to play virtually nonstop for the last few games and beating St Kitts and St Vincent before being knocked out by the Jamaicans.

They had also suffered a 3-0 defeat to Guyana in their opening fixture with Derol Redhead netting twice and Michael Castillo the other scorer.

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Road Town F.C. wins League and U16 Cup

June 28, 2016 by

By BVI Football Association

the victorious Road Town F.C. who won both the League and the Cup in 2016. Photo: BVIFA

the victorious Road Town F.C. who won both the League and the Cup in 2016. Photo: BVIFA

Road Town F.C. secured a League and Cup double with a 5-0 victory against North Sound F.C. in the U16 Cup Final on Sunday 26th June, 2016 at the A.O. Shirley Ground.

Whilst Road Town was dominant in the early exchanges it could not make the all important breakthrough and North Sound always looked dangerous on the break. However the introduction of Phillip Jules into the Road Town midfield brought coach Lenroy ‘Left’ Henry instant success and some relief when Jules rose, unmarked, on the edge of the six yard box to put his side ahead.

From that moment it wasn’t quite all one way traffic, but Road Town grew in confidence and scored again through Sheldon Harry. Marcus Butler also fired home to give Road Town breathing space and in the second half, Harry notched his second and Liam Blok rounded out the 5-0 win, sliding home from close range.

“We had been practicing and put in place what we had practiced,” commented Coach ‘Left’. “We looked much better as a team today and played the way I always wanted them too. Their quick breaks gave us some concern early on, but the introduction of Phillip Jules changed things around for us and he even got his head on the ball to score the opener.”

Coach ‘Left’ was also full of praise for young Sheldon Harry, who he feels is coming into his game after some stern words on the training ground

“I was looking for a performance like today from him all season. He is growing up as a player and once he keeps working hard, then he will get better and better.”

Phillip Jules was named as MVP for the Final and received a gift voucher from Amazon.com, whilst at the Trophy Presentation ceremony for both the Cup and League, other awards went to Sheldon Harry and Liam Blok as Golden Boot recipients, Diego Jiminez as Golden Glove, Miquel Marshall and Devante Samuel of North Sound F.C. the Cup and League MVPs, Justin Smith, the overall Best Defender.

Kyreek Gardiner was named as Man of the Match for the 3rd place play off between West End F.C and the Valley F.C after inspiring his team to fight back from a goal down against West End and take a 2-1 lead, before they conceded a penalty in the dyeing seconds, which Guillaume Parkins miscued, but saw bobble its way into the net to send the tie to a penalty shoot out.

Morgan Creque had put West End up in the 15th minute, but their wasteful approach in front of goal cost them dear when Gardiner equalized on a fast break first and then Kimron Tillack made it 2-1.

In the penalty shoot out it all went wrong for West End from the start and although the Valley missed a couple of attempts as well, it was left to Joshua Ramprasad to fire home the winner.

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Sugar Boys Win With Freak Goal

June 23, 2016 by
Photo by BVI Platinum

Photo by BVI Platinum

By BVI Platinum

A freak own goal, conceded by Islanders‘ keeper, Monty Butler, handed the Sugar Boys the Wendoll Williams Cup for a third time on Sunday, 19th June, 2016 at the A.O. Shirley Grounds.

According to a release from the BVI Football Association, the goal, the only one of the game, came in the 90th minute from a cross shot by Keron Daniel out on the Islanders left hand side.

The ball headed directly to Butler, who fumbled the ball and managed to let it bounce behind him and into the empty net.

“To be honest, it was a cross, but the keeper made a mistake and overall we deserved a bit of luck,” commented Daniel.

Derol Redhead was in a celebratory mood and satisfied with the win. “It was an enjoyable game; we played tough and kept going until the final whistle. The goal was maybe the break we deserved.”

Terry Nanton of the Sugar Boys was named as Tournament MVP, an honor that Redhead thought was well deserved.

“We expect a lot from him. He pulls strings for us from midfield and once he plays his role, we are all on top of our game.”

Javon Carty offered congratulations to the Sugar Boys, but felt his team should have been well ahead by half time.

“We battled hard, missed a few good chances through poor finishing and then conceded a very unfortunate goal right at the death. The Sugar Boys played a good game and we will go back to the drawing board to plan for the next tournament.”

Franis Primo and Allesandro Pallandino were jointly named as Golden Boot recipients, whilst the next tournament could well be taking place on the new Astro pitch at the association’s soon to be new home in East End, starting in September of this year.

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Ballstars Champions of Wendoll Williams Women’s Cup

June 21, 2016 by
Champion Ballstars on the left and VG United Girls on the right. Photo: provided.

Champion Ballstars on the left and VG United Girls on the right. Photo: provided.

A Lilly Pierce hat trick sped the Lady Ballstars to a hard fought, but ultimately emphatic 5-0 win against Virgin Gorda United Ladies on Sunday 19th June in the Final of the Wendoll Williams Women’s Cup Final.

A battling performance from the younger, less experienced VG Girls all came undone mid way through the second half after the half time break had been reached with the Ballstars up 1-0 following a fine volley come lobbed shot by Emily Lockhart.

Lockhart played a deeper mid field role in the second half and earned the MVP honour for creating much of the danger and attacking goal scoring moves for her team.

Pierce’s goals, which also gave her the Tournament’s Golden Boot award, finally broke the resistance of VG.

“It feels great to win, I really enjoyed the curling effort from the edge of the box, but the whole team played well and put together some good moves”.

Pierce was full of praise for her opponents, but saw the Ballstars experience as a decisive factor in the win.

Captain, Sharlene Pond, also thought VG had played well and will be a team to watch out for in the future.

“We started short of players, but as a team we were able to hold ourselves together and come out as Champions. I am looking forward to seeing those VG girls again though, if they stick together and keep improving, it can only be good for the Women’s game as a whole”.

Yasmin Ruffel-Smith scored the 5th and final goal for the Ballstars.

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Digicel Centre of Excellence closes for summer with gala performance

June 20, 2016 by

By BVI Football Association

Digicel Centre of Excellence 2016 participants. Photo: BVIFA

Digicel Centre of Excellence 2016 participants. Photo: BVIFA

The participants of the Digicel Centre of Excellence from both Virgin Gorda and Tortola, put on a gala performance in front of coaches, peers, family and friends on Saturday at the Millicent Mercer Playing Field in Baughers Bay as the programme closed for summer.

The various age groups from Under 7’s right through to Under 17’s, Boys and Girls, showed off their newly honed technical skills and teamwork tactical plays in small sided games and each was viewed with appreciation from all those braving the hot sun.

Head coach of the Virgin Gorda Centre of Excellence, Thomas Albert, was very enthused by what he saw on the day and also from what he seen over the course of the programme this year.  “20 – 25 kids have come out on a regular basis and I have seen a lot of progress, even more so today, when I see the players I have worked with doing so well with their Tortola counterparts. The support of Digicel has been great as have the efforts of all the coaches and parents. Together we can show the world what having Digicel as Sponsors means to the F.A. and how they are supporting our youths.”

In the years to come, Albert believes that those with responsibility for selecting national teams are going to have a lot of problems. “In the next two to three years there will be a lot of talented players out there. The Under 13’s, especially are looking very good and even though the girls are now in a separate programme in preparation for a regional tournament, they too are getting better and better.”

Albert also believes that as more and more girls are becoming interested in playing and are also improving technically, it is time to plan separate leagues for them. “The Women’s League has created a pathway all the way from grassroots to the top levels of senior national teams and we have looked at the U9’s and U13’s and how to get them playing competitive leagues amongst themselves, to further improve the standards. I believe we can do it and, with the support of Digicel in the Centre of Excellence, have already seen increased participation and interest.”

The Digicel Centre of Excellence has already produced dividends at U13 level, when a team came back from a tournament in St Maarten, unbeaten but in third place, following a penalty shoot out loss and still the best performance of any team the Association had sent previously.

As F.A. President, Andy Bickerton explained to the participants as he thanked Digicel for its support of the Centre, the next focus is on U17 Boys. “We are delighted to have Digicel on board and today the boys and girls were able to showcase the progress being made with constant high level coaching. What was also important was that the U17 boys were here and they are off to a CONCACAF Championship Qualifier in Suriname at the end of July. They are a good example to the younger players as to what can be experienced and achieved through playing football. Peers are very important to help develop and encourage youngsters in any sport and that’s why I wanted to make sure the U17 were recognized and the younger ones who go to the same schools and live in the same areas realize that the opportunity of flying off to tournaments is there for all of them one day.”

Mr. Bickerton also commented that there was much to look forward to in Football with the new stadium getting closer and closer and how important the relationship is with Digicel. “The importance of the partnership with Digicel is obvious today and they should feel proud of what they are helping to create with the development of our youths. When we start playing on the Astro in East End, things will get even better, as the surface will enable the youths to get even better technically and we hope the partnership with Digicel will be a long term one.”

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