The BVI Football Association and the H. Lavity Stoutt Community College (HLSCC) have formed a strategic partnership, with the signing of a 3-year Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), to develop local capacity in sports management and coaching.

“This relationship will allow for the professional development of FA members and all stakeholders,” commented BVIFA President Mr. Andy Bickerton, who signed the MOU along with Dr. Richard Georges PhD, President of HLSCC.

Some of the specific areas will be the use of HLSCC facilities by the BVIFA for training purposes, use of the BVIFA’s facilities by the college for shared vision activities and the BVIFA providing regional and international contacts of interest to the college.

“The College and the BVIFA have been talking and working together for a number of years,” said Georges. “This Memorandum of Understanding formalizes this collaborative relationship while laying a foundation for more ambitious projects in the future.”

The use of the HLSCC campus to provide training facilities will further enhance the BVIFA’s ambitions to provide top class education programmes for its coaches and, according to BVIFA Technical Director, Dan Neville, is another step to add to the recent partnership with the International Soccer Science and Performance Federation.

“We are delighted to be working in conjunction with college to deliver high quality live and online coaching courses in the BVI and ultimately regionally. HLSCC’s outstanding facilities and infrastructure will complement our coaching courses perfectly to deliver a high standard of sports education both locally and even regionally,” said Neville.

The BVIFA is also developing its own accredited foundation level courses to act as springboards into CONCACAF level programmes.