CONCACAF ACADEMY FESTIVALS ENGAGE YOUTH ACROSS ST. KITTS AND NEVIS

Basseterre, St. Kitts and Nevis: Concacaf’s Bigger Game Academy continued its work in St. Kitts and Nevis recently with grassroots football festivals held on both islands, as the St. Kitts and Nevis Football Association (SKNFA) continues efforts to strengthen grassroots football and create more opportunities for young players. The initiative, being spearheaded by the SKNFA, focuses on strengthening grassroots football through coach education while providing young players with opportunities to develop their skills, participate and enjoy the game. On Saturday, September 12, the National Bank Group Technical Center in St. Kitts came alive with young footballers participating in activities designed to promote teamwork, participation and player development. The festival formed part of the SKNFA’s broader grassroots programme following the Bigger Game Academy coaching workshop earlier in the week, which brought together more than 45 local coaches. The weekend activities provided an opportunity for coaches to put lessons from the workshop into practice while giving young players a chance to learn and enjoy football in a positive environment. Grassroots coach MJ Pemberton welcomed the opportunity to learn from the Bigger Game Academy and said the experience provided valuable knowledge for local coaches. “Over the past

two days we had an experience where we accommodated the Bigger Game Academy, a group sponsored by CONCACAF. They came and they brought a wealth of experience and knowledge to the locals here in St. Kitts and Nevis. We want to say that we really appreciate what they have brought to us and we want to take this and develop St. Kitts a lot more,” he said. “We intend to put whatever we have learned over the past two days into a very useful accommodation for our country.” Coach Christi-Anne Mills also highlighted the value of the training and the practical knowledge gained through the initiative. “(Concacaf) gave us some insight on different coaching skills and different things that we can set up, different things that we can do to help the children to grow and even from a beginner standpoint to get them off the mat. And I think they really gave us some great knowledge, great insight, info and we're really grateful for them.” Fellow coach Jahedia Lewis described the workshop as a valuable learning experience and said the knowledge gained can be applied within her club. “I'd like to thank the SKNFA for inviting

me for this course. I must say that this workshop was very fruitful. I was able to re-learn a lot and actually football is evolving so I was able to learn a lot more new skills and new tactical ways that I can coach and apply to my club as well....this was a tremendous step for the SKNFA and I hope that continues and I hope that we'll be able to have not just one similar but we have the opportunity to apply what we learn in our next session physically.” The Bigger Game Academy also hosted a grassroots festival on Nevis on the same day at the Ramsbury Playing Field, extending the initiative to young footballers across both islands. The two-island festivals provided a practical extension of the Bigger Game Academy’s coach education programme, allowing local coaches to engage young players through structured activities while applying new approaches to grassroots development. The SKNFA says programmes such as these are important to building a stronger grassroots foundation, improving the capacity of local coaches and creating a positive environment for the development of the next generation of footballers in St. Kitts and Nevis.