Minister for Youth Development and Sports, Kenson Casimir, is applauding the work done by facilitators of the Saint Lucia Semi-Professional Football League (SPFL) following its inaugural season.
The two-tier SPFL concluded on Saturday, with La Clery crowned champions of Tier 1 and Vieux Fort South champions of Tier 2.
In an interview during one of the playoff games, Casimir credited the professional approach to training and discipline for the improved quality of play on the field.
“I’m really impressed with the quality of football we are seeing in Saint Lucia. We are definitely improving,” he insisted. “You could see from the start of the tournament until now there’s an improvement. Obviously, when you have a semi-pro version, there’s more training, there’s more discipline required that is attached to your salary. And you can see players now learning the basics and executing it very well.”
Casimir also highlighted the SPFL’s importance as a tool for development in the socio-economic landscape. “When you have football playing year-round, you have vendors that are benefiting from it, [with] the sales of produce and the sales of their basic stuff,” he said. “You have barber shops, you have people who are doing hairdressing, you see everybody dressed really nicely, participating in anything economic and commercial. This is the spin-off we expect from the semi-pro league.”
A total of 89 regular season and playoff games were played from the start of the league to its conclusion. 17 teams across the tiers competed for silverware, with 300 players (all playing in Tier 1) getting compensated for playing for the first time ever.
A full post-analysis of the competition by administrators is expected soon.
You have barber shops, you have people who are doing hairdressing, you see everybody dressed really nicely, participating in anything economic and commercial. This is the spin-off we expect from the semi-pro league.” If Kensington as Minister for Sports see this as the greater benefit to St Lucians from football we’ll all fall down. You’re not the brightest crayon in that box.