Summary of SKNFA’s Press Conference held on 19th March 2013 re Commencement of Premier League.
Basseterre, St. Kitts- General Secretary of the SKNFA Mr Stanley Jacobs opened this morning’s press conference outlining the various leagues that have been running while the Premier League was on halt. He mentioned the: Division I, J League, just concluded U-14 League and the Female League along with the Grassroots Program. He then explained that for the fourth and final time, the SKNFA has extended the registration deadline for Tuesday 19th March, 2013. He then mentioned that to date, the only club that had not been registered was the S.L.Horsford St. Pauls FC.
The General secretary then informed the media that the Warner Park Football Stadium will not be available for the start of the league but will become available soon. In the meantime, the league will kick off at the Newtown Playing field with hopes of exploring other venues in the rural areas of the country.
In closing, Mr. Jacobs thanked Digicel for their continued support through sponsorship. He pointed out that this was the sixth(6th) consecutive year that Digicel had come on board as the main sponsor of the league and that the gratitude was unending.
Technical Director Mr. Lenny Lake, also at the head table began with the phrase “the game is the best teacher”. He highlighted the objectives of the Premier League in any country:
> to showcase the top level talent on the island
> to serve as a platform for aspiring players
> to serve as entertainment
He further prolonged that the debacle has taught us many lessons. With respect to the more technical aspects, Lake outlined that the league would consist of two rounds as the league should be finished by July. “The final four teams would be determined from the accumulation of points from the two rounds and each team would go into the competition on even ground, ties will be broken by goal difference”.
Mrs Marsha Chaterjee was evidently excited to see the start of the league. She expressed that football is a way of life in the eyes of the company. She reminded us of Jamar Smith who participated in the Digicel Kickstart Competition last year. She then brought to the press that Jamar was issued a scholarship after he was taken to Barbados to take part in the regional clinic. To Jamar we say congratulations. Mrs. Chaterjee in her brief remarks revealed that Digicel will be sponsoring the SKNFA’s Premier League a sum of 50,000 XCD as well as smartphones for the executive committee. She took the time to invite everyone to come on out and support the league and join in the excitement.
At the end of the conference, the head tab
le entertained questions from the press to clear up any misunderstandings and misrepresentations that may have hovered over the SKNFA’s reputation during the past few months.
The SKNFA wishes to thank the general public for their patience in the resolution of this matter. To the media, thank you for your attendance at the conference and to the clubs, thank you for your assistance. We look forward to a very exciting fight for the Premier League title.
