Combined Campuses and Colleges have already made their mark on the cricket fields of the region.
Sir Hilary Beckles wants them to now make their mark on the football field as well.
He’s hoping a Combined Campuses and Colleges (CCC) can someday be represented on the field within the confines of the Caribbean Football Union (CFU).
Sir Hilary, pro-vice-chancellor of the University of the West Indies (UWI) and principal of its Cave Hill Campus, also expects to see a High Performance Centre in football developed at the facility, just as it has in the field of cricket.
He made this clear yesterday, after putting pen to paper, and signing a memorandum of understanding with CONCACAF, the governing body for North and Central America and the Caribbean.
The professor and CONCACAF president Jeffrey Webb signed the document on the first day of the inaugural Soccerex Americas Forum, which is being held at the Lloyd Erskine Sandiford Centre.
“We have done some very good things with the High Performance Centre for cricket and it is our plan to develop one for soccer to enable this discipline to reach its full potential within the Caribbean context,” he told reporters gathered for the signing.
“We are honoured to partner and be an ally of CONCACAF. We hope that one day the students involved in higher education across the CFU as a Combined Campus and Colleges. What we have done so successfully in the area of cricket, we do hope we can do in soccer. That would be a magnificent recognition of putting our full support behind the soccer enterprise.”
Sir Hilary said the UWI should and does have a role to play in the development of the skills, management and thinking of Caribbean youth.
“We believe the development of the human resources required for the administration of sports is as important as the provisions we make for sportsmen and women to perform well on the field.”
The principal bemoaned the current environment surrounding sports administration in the Caribbean region.
“We are having tremendous challenges in sports management. We are having challenges in sports governance. We have reasons to be concerned. While we have some of the finest sportsmen and women in the world, it is quite evident to everyone that our governance an administration have a long way to go.
“In an environment of excellence on the field, we are now surrounded by crises one after the next.”
According to Sir Hilary, such problems are diminishing the quality of sports administration, and showing the region in a negative light.
Sir Hilary said that the UWI also had the advantage of possessing one of the finest soccer facilities in the Caribbean, in addition to providing bachelor of science and masters degrees in sports science and sports administration.
“The journey to this moment has been long, but fruitful. We have dedicated our resources at UWI to develop some of the finest sporting facilities, and the academic course required to assist sports managers and athletes, and to create a culture that is respectful of sport.
“We are committed to excellence in sport and to ensuring that those on the field and in the offices are some of our finest citizens.”
Webb said he expected the team to produce plenty of results.
“Today is a very historic day for us,” the CONCACAF boss said. We see the partnership with the University of the West Indies, which is an institution that has built generations of Caribbean and world leaders, as an important step as we continue to evolve and play an integral role in CONCACAF.”
He said the MOU would provide a great impetus in the development of football in Barbados, and by extension the entire region. In addition, Webb added, the synergy of academics and sports administration would be taken to a new level.
