SVGFF ‘Fighting Tanks with Sticks’

The Executive of the St. Vincent and the Grenadines Football Federation (SVGFF) has been termed a “slack” bunch by former Technical Director, Stewart John Hall.

The assessment of the man who was at the helm of this country’s football programme for just about five months, came after he was able to quit the job free of any binding agreement.{{more}}

“I did not have a contract; they never got me a work permit,” Hall reported to SEARCHLIGHT last week Friday afternoon via telephone from Barbados, where he was intransit to his England base.

He summed up the operations of the Executive, as “fighting tanks with sticks”.

“They have no money, no facilities, no sponsors”, he lamented.

“They could not afford to pay my salary; if they did, no one else would get paid; and if they were paid, I could not get paid,” Hall stated.

“It was the first time I was working in an amateur environment,” he said.

Hall revealed that he was paid a month’s salary in advance, but was not willing to divulge his exact remuneration.

President of the SVGFF told SEARCHLIGHT at a press conference at the ET Joshua Airport Sunday, June 22, that Hall received a basic monthly salary of US$6600.

“Money was never a problem, because I left and did not claim outstanding expenses for gas, my electricity, I did not bother to claim that. I was just not happy on the job”, Hall added.

“I told them (that) they are just wasting their money because I don’t have the support”, the former Technical Director said.

“I have given them a financial dispensation; I have done them a favour”, he said.

Hall’s resignation was made public at the press conference when the senior national football team, Vincy Heat, returned from Canada, after being ousted by that country 7-1 on aggregate, in the 2010 World Cup Qualifiers.

However, Hall said that he had resigned since May 21, but gave the federation a month’s notice.

“I did not have to give them a month’ s notice; I did not have to do that, because I did not have a contract, but I commend the Federation for keeping my resignation in the strictest of confidence,” opined Hall, who is a UEFA Pro Licensed Coach and a UEFA A Licensed Coach.

“When I came to St. Vincent, I thought it would have been a challenge, but it was a labour in vain,” he recalled.

“I am a technical coach. I need a full size field. I need portable goals. None of these were in place until we were about to leave for Jamaica,” Hall, a former England Under-18 Assistant Coach, complained.

Hall stated that players lacked the right attitude, which hindered his output.

Commenting on the Arnos Vale Playing Field, he said: “It is a lovely facility; it is a cricket stadium, not a football stadium”.

He opined that anyone coming to St. Vincent and the Grenadines to work as a Technical Director will find it difficult, given the present set up and the Football personnel that the person(s) will have to work with.

Hall also cited the “unrealistic expectations of Vincentians” as another area that will affect his successor(s).

“The Vincentians’ expectation is ludicrous; their expectations will kill anybody”, Hall contended.

He has advised the current SVGFF Executive to “re-group, pay off their debts and attract some sponsorship”.

Hall revealed that since his resignation, he has signed a contract to work in India, an appointment he was to have picked up on Tuesday, July 1.

It is the duty of Delves and company to find a replacement for Hall. The Delves led Executive was voted into office Saturday October 20, 2007, but is finding out that administration of Football here is no bed of roses.