BVI Football Association players, coaches and managers displaying their wares after the ceremony

 BVI Football Association hand out

awards from 2004 league

BY DEAN GREENAWAY

 The Road Town Police Station Canteen came alive with cheers, whistles, and shouts followed by food and music on Saturday night, when the BVI Football Association doled out awards to players, managers and referees, from its 2004 Amstel Lite/Road Town Wholesale national league.

Association president Kenrick Grant and Secretary General Llewellyn ‘Tudor’ Dasent, recanted the highlights of the 2004 season, thanked everyone involved in making the season a success and hinted of future plans which included the association finally having its own home.

Grant said one of the areas focused on during the hour-long ceremony, was the hard work and dedication that was put in to get the results they wanted, which came in the senior team’s performance in the Digicel Caribbean Cup in November. “I sent a message to all the clubs and officials that we need to rededicate ourselves to this sport, to put in the necessary work and the administration will do all it can to facilitate this,” Grant stated. “But, the dedication has to come from the players, coaches and managers to make football a success.”

During the Digicel Cup where the Nature Boyz went in as the whipping boys, they played hosts St. Vincent to 1-1 draw with, lost to the Cayman Islands 1-0, before a 2-0 win over Bermuda, and advanced for the first time in any regional competition. Grant said the performance has helped to build confidence in the team. “In the past, there were only a few players who took the leading role,” the BVIFA head noted, adding that players who dedicated themselves and not necessarily those with a big name were the ones selected.

“With the hard work they put in and the results they got, it helped the other players to gain confidence in them, knowing now that if they do put in the work, the results will come,” Grant explained. “I hope the results would send a message right down to the youth players because we are developing our national youth teams to compete at a high level and we hope to get the same results from them.”

The BVI climbed from 175 to 165 in the latest FIFA rankings following its performance in the Digicel Cup. Grant said the BVI had the greatest leap in the rankings among Caribbean teams. “We are hoping to move even further when the ranking come out in February,” Grant said. “Our five year plan is to make the BVI number five in the Caribbean.”

BVI Football Association awards are as follows: Soccerama Champions; Valencia 1. Best represented team in Soccerama; $100, Valencia 1. 2004 Amstel Lite League Champions; Valencia 1. 1st runner up; HBA Panthers. 2nd runners up; Veterans. Knockout Champions; Virgin Gorda. Runners up; Valencia 1. Fair Play Award; VP Wolves. Golden Booth Award; Chevron Russell, Valencia I.

Team MVP Awards: Valencia 1; Michael Haynes. Valencia 2; Jhon Julio. HBA Panthers; Esvert Collins. Virgin Gorda; maxford Pipe. Connections; Ashton Locust. Old Madrid; Robert Smith. Veterans; Monty Butler.

Outstanding Manager Awards; Patrick Mitchell, Valencia 1. Aubrey Libure, HBA Panthers. Jeffrey Demming, Virgin Gorda. Referee Awards; Elron Mills, Rawlston Richardson, Keith Woods, Marlon Charles, Stephen Douglas, Elvette Dore, Osman Adams, Joseph Olliviere, Dawn Laurencin.