Sports
July 25, 2008

Corneal wants the region to invest in their own

FIFA Coaching Instructor, Trinidadian Alvin Corneal, wants regional football bodies, like the St. Vincent and the Grenadines Football Federation, to look seriously at the continuous practice of hiring foreign Technical Directors.{{more}}

Corneal, who was here on a ten-day Olympic Solidarity Coaching Course for beginners, expressed his views last Tuesday to SEARCHLIGHT.

“Why will countries like St. Vincent and the Grenadines want to hire a foreign Technical Director for one year, when there are people in the Caribbean who can do the job and at less cost to the federations?” Corneal questioned.

“We bring them in and expect them to be magical and turn water into wine. It does not happen so,” Corneal, a former St. Vincent and the Grenadines Coach, said.

“The best persons suited for these jobs are Caribbean people, who know and understand the culture, things the foreign coaches can’t,” he advised.

He pointed to Jamaican Carl Brown, who currently works with the Cayman Islands, as one person who fits the bill.

“In a place like St. Vincent (and the Grenadines), where there is no professional league nor there aren’t many facilities, what does a Technical Director have to do before five o’clock each day?” he further asked.

Whilst not totally ruling out foreign input, Corneal, a former Trinidad and Tobago football international, offered an alternate suggestion.

“You can retain that person, let him come in set up the programme, then come in every three months to assess and fine tune,” Corneal opined.

“The progress is in the hands of your Federation and the people of St. Vincent and the Grenadines; the choice is theirs,” stated Corneal, who is also a renowned Football and Cricket commentator and analyst for both radio and television.

Further localising the football issues, Corneal admitted that although this country has been producing good national senior teams over the years, the same cannot be said of the youth teams.

“Your youth programme is not strong enough; you need to stabIlise from the bottom, otherwise you will have a group of disgruntled 25-year-olds,” Corneal advised.

He also suggested that local football clubs twin themselves to semi professional clubs in Jamaica and Trinidad and Tobago, so that their top players can be fed on a loan basis to hone their skills in a professional environment.

Corneal has put out a challenge to the local football body and the over twenty prospective coaches to change the status quo. (RT)