Manifestos and the big picture
Over the past week, the United Workers Party (UWP) and Saint Lucia Labour Party (SLP) have each released their manifestos, outlining their vision for the next five years and making their case to form the next government of Saint Lucia.
My focus here is on their respective outlooks for sports, noting both differences and areas of overlap, while also revisiting past promises and how they measured up in terms of delivery.
It must be said: the UWP manifesto addresses sports in far greater detail than the SLP’s. Still, there are notable commonalities.
Stadiums, pools, and infrastructure
One recurring frustration is the cycle of promises left unfulfilled. The George Odlum Stadium, repurposed as a temporary home for St Jude Hospital after the 2009 fire, has long been pledged for restoration — dependent, of course, on a new hospital.
In its 2025 document Moving Forward Together, the SLP again pledges to refurbish the stadium, claiming funds have been secured. The UWP, in Reclaiming Our Future, makes no mention of Odlum but instead promises upgrades to the Soufriere Stadium: modular seating, an improved grandstand, a sight board, and a swimming pool, one of four they intend to establish across the island.
With the National Aquatic Centre already under construction in Gros Islet, that community will soon boast two pools by 2026, alongside the Rodney Heights Aquatic Centre. A Soufriere pool would take the UWP halfway to its target, though national and community facilities have been discussed for decades. The SLP, meanwhile, pledges a long-needed national Learn to Swim programme.
On infrastructure more broadly, the UWP envisions converting the Vigie Multipurpose Sports Complex into an indoor facility and establishing another in the south. This echoes its 2016 manifesto pledge, still unrealised. The SLP’s 2021 manifesto promised modernisation of the Marchand and Mindoo Phillip Grounds, with some progress made. The UWP now seeks to transform both into a sporting complex.
Programmes and athlete support
The vexing issue of athletes being denied paid leave when representing Saint Lucia also remains unresolved, despite repeated promises.
From a programming perspective, the elusive promise of a structured sports scholarship system reappears — first floated by the UWP in 2016, then the SLP in 2021, and again by the UWP in 2025 — with little to show so far.
The UWP also pledges to include sports in every government-sponsored Community After School Programme. With coaches already in place across multiple sports, this appears to be an extension to all communities with ASPs.
Additional commitments include subventions for community-based academies, support for grassroots tournaments, expansion of the Elite and Emerging Athlete Programme, and a Talent Identification Programme within school sports.
Alternative sports and deliverables
Another longstanding debate is the future of auto racing. The old Vieux Fort strip, the Kaka Bef, is gone. Both parties now pledge remedies by 2031: the SLP with a “state-of-the-art” southern track, the UWP with motocross and drag racing facilities.
The Saint Lucia Sports Academy (SLSA) also features prominently. Established by the UWP in 2019, the party now promises to expand its residential, technical and resource capacity, and to open a southern branch. The SLP proposes a repurposing and renaming: the former Gros Islet Secondary School would become the Levern Spencer Institute of Sports Training and Development.
The SLP has delivered on some 2021 pledges, notably expanding programmes to include “alternative” sports such as surfing, dominoes, chess, darts, pool and drag racing. Lighting upgrades have been rolled out across several fields, and football and cricket have been professionalised. The UWP promises continued support for those leagues and potential backing for semi-pro basketball.
The road ahead
Presumably to bolster its scholarship ambitions, the UWP proposes summer camps and showcase events. A “Sports for All” component is also included, with initiatives for senior sports and broader encouragement of healthy, active lifestyles.
