Football Stadium for SVG closing in on reality

THE REALIZATION of the Stadium Project, which is essentially a Home For Football, draws nearer, with the visit to St Vincent and the Grenadines next Tuesday, July 19, of a high-power team of FIFA technocrats.

The delegation, which includes FIFA Regional Manager for the Caribbean – Alejandro Calvente, FIFA Regional Office Development Manager- Herve Blanchard, along with FIFA Regional Office Project Consultant -Jordan Victoire and FIFA Infrastructure Consultant- David Rosa, will hold talks with the executive committee of the St Vincent and the Grenadines Football Federation, as well as visit the proposed site at Cane Grove.

Buoyed by the visit and the imminent progress in getting the project to fruition, President of the St Vincent and the Grenadines Football Federation, Carl Dickson, outlined to SEARCHLIGHT, the purpose of the FIFA officials’ visit.

“They are coming to determine what studies might be needed in terms of soil studies, finalise architectural drawings, look at the comets that will be needed and look at the bidding document to be used to facilitate the selection process… .Those four will make up phase zero of the project”, Dickson outlined. Beaming of the fulfilment of one of his main desires of his tenure, Dickson referred to the occasion as a “big one”. He thus underscored that the visit is instructive to the decision-making processes of the project.

He further elucidated, “Together with the exco, the visit and input of the FIFA officials, will determine what phase one of the project will be”.

Dickson informed that phase one will include perimeter fencing and the lay out of the playing surface, the lighting of the field, the initial seating requirements, namely the erection of Bleachers.

The SVGFF President also disclosed that while here, the FIFA team will also pay courtesy calls on minister of finance Camillo Gonsalves and minister of sports Frederick Stephenson to establish the protocols needed to allow for the smooth implementation of the project.

Already the SVGFF has purchased five acres of prime land, located at Cane Grove on the leeward side of the mainland at a cost of EC$2.4 million.

With that land space, SVGFF plans for the Stadium Project entail the erection of a full-size international Football field, a Futsal facility as well as Technical Centre, which will be equipped with amenities to accommodate two teams and their officials.

As such, the new Football facility when completed, will complement the Technical Centre at Brighton, which currently serves as a training facility, equipped with dormitories for all national teams’ use during preparation for regional as well as international tournaments.

During his campaign for election to the post of President of the SVGFF in 2019, Dickson in his 10-point manifesto, placed high on his priority list, the erection of a “ Home For Football”.