by EZRA STUART

THE SEARCH continues for more overseas-based footballers to represent Barbados in the semi-final round of the Digicel Caribbean Cup slated for November.

In congratulating the national team for their success in the Group "B" first qualifiers in Antigua and Barbuda, president of the Barbados Football Association (BFA), Ronald Jones, said he made some contacts while in England last week.

"We are in possession of many other persons in the Barbadian diaspora who have expressed an interest. We saw some of them play, so we would meet obviously with the coaching staff, [and] explain how far we've got relative to those kinds of searching," Jones said.

Jones was accompanied by BFA's senior vice-president Keith "Jolla" Barrow on the trip to England where they also met with officials of a number of English clubs.

"I can tell you that with the quality of persons we have identified playing at Premier League, First Division and Second Division level, then mixed with the best here in Barbados, that we would have an extremely strong team as we move forward towards the preliminaries of the next World Cup because that is our emphasis now," Jones said.

"That is our strength that we are working towards. It is going to call for a lot of money, because it is not cheap bringing your players out of England; so we would put it in a financial project.

"We would share it with the Minister of Sports (Anthony Wood), the National Sports Council, and hope that they too are part of the vision. All of the countries of the Caribbean know the challenges which they have playing football domestically so they look beyond their own shores to West Indian people who are playing the sport," he said.

Among the names mentioned by the BFA supremo are Marlon Harewood, Fitz Hall, Emmerson Boyce and Wayne Andrews.

List of people

"There is a whole list of people that we've been in discussion with and you can say that we will follow through on that over the next few weeks," he said.

"Of course, we will be looking to see if one or two others could be available for the next round along with Paul Ifill and Mark McCammon, ideally in the striking department because Paul is essentially a midfielder," Jones noted

The BFA boss said Andrews, who plays for Coventry, had "expressed a strong interest" in coming down for the first round of the Digicel Caribbean Cup.

"He was going to come this time but he picked up a slight injury, so management up there kept him down and we supported that move because you don't want a fella further injuring himself. He is a strong possibility," Jones remarked.

Jones said the aim of Barbados was not only to reach the Digicel Cup Finals but to qualify for the Gold Cup in the process.

"Barbados want to be in the mix-up this time around; and the way we played obviously in Antigua was good," he said.

ezrastuart@ nationnews.com