SKN new football ranking points to more investment – SKNFA president

Basseterre, St. Kitts, April 9, 2016 (SKNFA) – The president of the St. Kitts and Nevis Football Association (SKNFA) made a pitch recently for the continued investment in the sport of football to enable its further development.

President Johnson was speaking at a press conference Thursday after it became public that the St. Kitts and Nevis national football team had made history by falling below the 100th position for the very first time. The international ranking was issued on FIFA’s website on Wednesday.

According to President Johnson, the SKNFA current administration had achieved one of its objectives. He said, “Since this administration took office in 2009, we made it an objective of ours to ensure that our international FIFA rankings achieved a mark below 100. And that was because, there is a certain importance of achieving a ranking below 100.”

Johnson explained that falling below the 100th mark provides increased opportunities for players to obtain professional contracts, particularly in the European market. He indicated also that it attracts higher and better competition for the National Men’s Team.

Johnson said further, “Most importantly are the opportunities it presents for our players; the exposure that it gives our players on the regional and international markets… In addition, there is the opportunity for the SKNFA to attract greater investment, greater sponsorship, because our product is seen as a product of greater value.”

Back in 2009, when Johnson became president, St. Kitts and Nevis ranked 163.
In this latest improvement, St. Kitts and Nevis moved from position #121 to position #92.

President Johnson stated that many have worked tirelessly to ensure that our rankings continually move up the ladder. He said, “The fact that we have now achieved the position is a great testimony to the hard work, not only of the executive of SKNFA, but all our stakeholders.”

President Johnson congratulated the players, coaches, management of the national men’s team, football fans, sponsors the media, member clubs the SKNOC, and the Ministry and Department of Sports.

I believe it is a great day for St. Kitts and Nevis football, but our objective now is to achieve and even higher ranking on the FIFA international list.

Staying below 100 would only come by continued investment in the sport, and I want to urge all of our stakeholders, the corporate community of St. Kitts and Nevis to invest to an even greater extent in the development of the sport here in St. Kitts and Nevis.

“I want to urge all our stakeholders, the corporate community, the Government of St. Kitts and Nevis to invest to an even greater extent in the development of the sport here in St. Kitts and Nevis.”

“Our next objective is to go for the Gold Cup,” said Johnson, in reference to St. Kitts and Nevis advancing to the second round of the CFU Caribbean Cup, in which the federation is in a group that includes Suriname and St. Vincent & the Grenadines.