Basseterre, St. Kitts and Nevis: The St. Kitts and Nevis Football Association (SKNFA) is strengthening its grassroots football programme through a partnership with Concacaf’s Bigger Game Academy, with more than 45 local coaches participating in a full-day workshop on Thursday, September 9, at the National Bank Group Technical Center.
The workshop, which ran from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., forms part of the SKNFA’s broader efforts to build the capacity of local coaches and establish a structured grassroots football programme across St. Kitts and Nevis. SKNFA Technical Director Giba Damiano said the Bigger Game Academy provides an important opportunity to launch and develop the Association’s grassroots programme. “We are bringing the Bigger Game Academy, the CONCACAF Bigger Game Academy to St. Kitts and Nevis....We have over 45 coaches signed ... The Bigger Game Academy is an
opportunity to start our grassroots program,” Damiano said. As part of the initiative, Concacaf will support the SKNFA in developing a 10-week grassroots programme, which will initially be delivered at central locations — the National Bank Group Technical Center in St. Kitts and the ETW Park in Nevis. “They will come, they'll deliver the workshop and they will help us with a 10-week plan where we will be delivering in St. Kitts and Nevis at central locations. St. Kitts at the Technical Center, Nevis at the ETW Park. And this is a great opportunity to build capacity through coaches and also to share the message to our community that we want our kids playing, practicing, enjoying
and loving football.” The initiative is designed to provide local coaches and volunteers with the tools and knowledge
required to deliver age-appropriate grassroots football sessions. The 10-week programme will also serve as a pilot, with participating coaches receiving continued mentoring and support throughout the programme. Weekly reports will be used to monitor the development of the programme and the professional development of the coaches
involved. Damiano said coach education remains a key priority for the SKNFA Technical Department. “For us, every partnership that we have with CONCACAF is a great opportunity to educate our coaches, educate our volunteers and share the knowledge of how to run a grassroots program and how to deliver age-appropriate session for the kids as well. So, it's always good to deliver this type of workshops because this is a priority for the technical department. We are taking coach education very seriously and we want our coaches to be equipped with the right tools to help our young kids.” The SKNFA’s longer-term objective is to expand the grassroots programme beyond the initial central locations and establish football activities in six different zones across St. Kitts and Nevis. The zonal approach is intended to bring organised grassroots football closer to communities and clubs, while providing more young players with regular opportunities to play and develop. “After the 10 weeks, we're going to go to the communities. The plan is to have the grassroots in six different zones, similar to the zones that we run the 1v1s. And this is an opportunity to get closer to our communities, closer to our clubs.” The SKNFA says the Bigger Game Academy represents an important partnership with Concacaf and supports its commitment to strengthening coach education, developing sustainable grassroots programmes and creating greater access to football for young people throughout St. Kitts and Nevis.
