- 6 months ago
Big changes could be coming to school's football in Trinidad and Tobago with the league format being extended.
Category
🗞
NewsTranscript
00:00Well, it's a wacky, bold move as big changes could be coming to schools football in Trinidad and Tobago,
00:11with the league format being extended.
00:14Well, that was one of the proposed features in a historic move where Senator David Nackett met with SSFL President Mariri Gonzalez
00:22and top officials to discuss a major overhaul of the secondary schools football league.
00:27It's the first time in the league's 50-year history that government and league heads have sat down to reform the structure, format and even the laws of the school competition.
00:38The proposed revamp includes reducing games per week to protect players, extending the competition to six months,
00:46while introducing workshops on leadership, mental health and career planning.
00:50Senator Nackett has pled support, saying it's time to modernize schools football and truly invest in the future of all young athletes.
01:00Well, joining us live now is Parliamentary Secretary and the Ministry of Sports and Youth Affairs, Senator David Nackett.
01:06Of course, no stranger to football fans across the region.
01:09Well, the former national captain recently held a landmark meeting with SSFL officials to discuss the proposed reforms to the school game,
01:15a move that could reshape the landscape of youth football in the country.
01:20Senator, welcome and thanks for joining us.
01:24Good evening to you, James, and to all your viewers.
01:27Oh, thanks so much.
01:28You've been quite busy in the sporting landscape recently, and of course, this is no different.
01:33This move is being described as a historic meeting.
01:36What exactly prompted that push for reform in the SSFL?
01:39Well, when we look at best practices throughout the world, when it comes to youth development,
01:46and that falls within the remit of the Ministry of Sports and Youth Affairs,
01:52we realized that we needed to have that reform take place in the league that has the most participation in Trinidad and Tobago.
02:03And that, of course, is the SSFL, the Secondary Schools League.
02:07And we knew that with over 140 schools that the SSFL represents and over 8,000 players,
02:18or 800 players, sorry, to that effect, it was the perfect place to start our developmental policy.
02:26And we have to follow best practices.
02:28We have to have a game a week where players are able to rest, recuperate.
02:33And this was done in consultation.
02:34I spoke with TTFA Technical Director, Anton Corneal.
02:40I spoke with some of the stakeholders, some of the ex-footballers, some of the veteran footballers, former footballers.
02:47And they all agree that the format in its current condition cannot be sustained.
02:54It's not sustainable.
02:55It doesn't lend to us developing players that will meet the standard of international football
03:00and that will go and represent us at college level in the United States or even at the regional level.
03:07So we felt that it was time for that change.
03:10And I held that meeting with SSFL today.
03:15And they were quite receptive.
03:16They, of course, have to go back to their council and discuss.
03:20But, you know, institutions in Trinidad are very, very reluctant to change.
03:24But I found them receptive.
03:25And I look forward to their response.
03:27Well, I know personally, this is quite close to your heart, of course, having an academy yourself.
03:33You also mentioned the Nita Mendy structure and even the laws of the league.
03:38What specific changes are being considered, if you can share?
03:41Well, we have to look at not only the one game a week.
03:47But what we want to do is have bring back those old-time rivalries, an all-star game possibly between north and south, east and central.
04:01We want to make sure that we have university coaches from the states coming in to take a look at our players,
04:07perhaps putting on camps and workshops, to have coaches from Europe flying in during the break and taking a look at our players.
04:17We need to do things that the rest of the world that have a certain standard that they have done.
04:24If you keep operating like we do, squeezing 120 games into three months and one week of play,
04:33what you're going to find is that we're just going through the motions.
04:36We're not going through youth development.
04:40And I think it's time we take a bold move.
04:43We're shocked here, a format that has been in place for over 60 years.
04:49And we take that move, we change, and I think it's right in line with the vision of our Honorable Prime Minister,
04:56which is to make bold moves in order to develop our youth and develop our sporting industry.
05:02I guess, David, Mr. Nackett, it has to be asked, six months extended time for the school season,
05:11pushing past December, which has traditionally been the cutoff time for secondary schools football.
05:16You've got to ask how feasible or has there been any feasibility study done with regards to pushing the league further into the school term?
05:24Well, I have spoken with some of the schools, and they seem receptive, but you're going to get pushback, of course,
05:32maybe from some of the principals and some of the schools.
05:35But I did speak with SSFL and told them that they will have to begin their consultations immediately as this season was done,
05:44or maybe even during the season.
05:45We're going to have to have a buy-in from the PTA.
05:48Parents are going to be concerned, of course.
05:50There are students that play more than one sport, but at international level, when you reach the age of 16,
05:57as you well know, players don't play two sports, especially in terms of football.
06:02They choose a sport.
06:03So what we need to do is either we change, we adapt, or we fall behind.
06:10If we remain stagnant, we're not going to be developing our players, our youth players,
06:14to their maximum capacities, and we're going to find that all the rest of the region,
06:19and they're going to go ahead of Trinidad and Tobago.
06:22That will not happen under our watch.
06:24It will not happen.
06:25And finally, Senator, how soon can we expect to see some of these reforms being seriously considered,
06:31and even further than that, being implemented in the league?
06:35Well, we are hoping that the SSFL will take this on board very, very quickly,
06:42and go back to their council.
06:44And we're looking for 2026, 2027, a change in format.
06:49And we hope that our culture needs to change.
06:53Remember, there's not any specific culture in Trinidad and Tobago.
06:56There's one culture in football, and it's a professional culture.
06:59If we need to nurture and grow our players to that level, we would like to see.
07:04Well, thank you very much, of course, for chatting with us, Senator, of course,
07:09David Nackett, the Parliamentary Secretary in the Ministry of Sport.
Comments