Realism versus Optimism

Many Vincentians, especially those who follow the sport of football, must indeed be happy that St Vincent and the Grenadines has once again made it to the group phase of the CONCACAF Zone of the World Cup Qualifiers.{{more}}

As known, this is not the first time that the country has advanced to this segment; however, there has been much hype prior to the recent tie with Aruba, as the prospects loomed to face the United States of America.

Not that the US is a football powerhouse in the world, but the anxiety stemmed from the possibilities of St Vincent and the Grenadines being sold on the tourism market, granted media coverage which they offer.

This wish has been attained, and St Vincent and the Grenadines has been lodged with the USA, Trinidad and Tobago and Guatemala.

The wait, though, will be almost a year, as St Vincent and the Grenadines will host the USA on September 2 next year — as the campaign is long and indeed an arduous one.

St Vincent and the Grenadines’ journey in the fourth round kicks off on November 13 against the USA, at the Busch Stadium, St Louis, Missouri, in the USA. Four days later, we will pack punches against Guatemala here at the Arnos Vale Playing Field.

Action for the St Vincent and the Grenadines outfit — popularly called ‘Vincy Heat’ — resumes on March 25, 2016, with a meeting here with Trinidad and Tobago, and the reverse fixture on March 29 in Port of Spain.

St Vincent and the Grenadines’ final match is their away outing with Guatemala on September 6.

Optimism surely has taken root among the least of the Vincentian populace, who may have just gave a cursory recognition to football and the media publicity, which has gone with St Vincent and the Grenadines’ journey thus far.

But the reality is that this country has the lowest football pedigree among the quartet.

The other three are consistently in the top 100 of FIFA rankings, while St Vincent and the Grenadines has rarely attained a sub-100 position.

Additionally, the USA, in recent times, has been a regular finalist at the World Cup, while Trinidad and Tobago tasted the experience in 2006.

Whilst Guatemala has never had a World Cup appearance, they are among the top ranked teams in CONCACAF, and have the regular tournament appearances to keep their rankings and levels of play at an acceptable level.

Stretching the argument wider, the other two groups in this fourth round, are also composed of teams which have more weight than we do.

Group A comprises Mexico, Honduras, El Salvador and Canada, and Group B features Costa Rica, Panama, Haiti and Jamaica.

So, even among the 12, St Vincent and the Grenadines is the least recognized in terms of football history.

Most of them were part of the recently concluded CONCACAF Gold Cup, which provided proper gauges and tune-ups for their World Cup campaigns.

The case of St Vincent and the Grenadines is reserved, as the Windward Islands and Caribbean competitions and the four-year cycle World Cup qualifiers are our grounds to expose the talents of our players.

Critically, St Vincent and the Grenadines is not afforded friendly internationals on the set FIFA dates, neither through invitations or on their own seeking out; hence, our national team stays idle for most of the time.

Therefore, inasmuch as one would want to be hoping that surprises can be sprung, one though has to be pragmatic and know that talent at this level would not just hit it off.

Also, it must be known that there is no magic about reaching to the six team, known as the hexagonal phase, which is the next round for the 12 CONCACAF teams which are contesting this fourth round.

So, it is imperative on the football authorities here to see what is the most that can be had from participating in the fourth round.

It is an opportunity to max out the opportunities, and build for the next tournament, as St Vincent and the Grenadines has put its name in the hat once more that they are good enough to reach the group stage.

Getting past this stage in the foreseeable future cannot be attained with the structure which we presently possess and which we believe is workable.

Starting from the administration of the sport, all the levels of operations have to be professionalized; otherwise, St Vincent and the Grenadines will continue to reach this stage and no further.

The majority of the talent pool of the current set of players have another 10 years of national football in them.

If we are serious about our football, the 2022 campaign must begin at this juncture.