A new initiative by the BVI Football Association will help three national team members, including one from Virgin Gorda, attend Cloud Community College in Kansas on Football scholarships starting January 17.
With the aim of strengthening its national team, Trevor Peters, Joel Fahie and Chris Telemaque will become the first male players in the association’s 38-year history to attend college or university on scholarship. Female player Amanda Emmanuel attended Syracuse’s Bryant and Stratton College in 2003 and another initiative was undertaken a year later, but was turned down, BVIFA President Andy Bickerton said during a Jan. 6 press conference.
The three players will receive ,000 each to attend school from the BVIFA. The players will then be eligible for more financial support after the first term.
Mr. Bickerton pointed out that in 1989, the BVIFA initiated a youth programme targeting primary schools, offering voluntary coaching. The programme has grown over the years, he said. Today there are 436 primary school athletes (291 boys and 145 girls) registered and 130 (84 boys and 46 girls) at the high school level in the programme.
“One of the objectives of the youth programme — apart from bringing football to them — is to try and provide educational opportunities,” Mr. Bickerton said. “We were successful in 2003 with Amanda Emmanuel who earned an associates degree in IT. We were offered places in the following two years, but the young ladies were unable to take them up. But, today, is a milestone for us, because these three young men are the first males we have been able to get scholarships for in the United States.”
Mr. Bickerton said its an opportunity to tell parents that once in the programme, their child will not only be learning football, but doing something useful with their time and burning up their energy, but there is an opportunity for youngsters if they do well, to get an education on football scholarships.
Rickie Davis, the association’s legal counsel who managed the BVI team during last year’s preliminary rounds of the 2014 FIFA World Cup qualifier against the US Virgin Islands, said they fielded a young team of VI national players, which was one of the BVIFA’s objective. However the players lacked experience.
After being eliminated, he along with Technical Director Patrick Mitchell, coach Avondale “Avon” Williams and former BVIFA President Franka Pickering had a discussion on what could be done to raise the players’ standards and the issue of scholarships came up.
Mr. Davis took note of one of the USVI players who scored three goals against them who was a “product of the college system.”
“I could tell that he had a little bit more about him,” Mr. Davis said. “Based on the three playerswho represent the core and the future of football in the British Virgin Islands getting a scholarship was one thing and placing them was another.”
The three players did some research and Mr. Telemaque, who plans to study web design, provided details about the school, which won the 2011 NJCAA National Championships.
“These three gentlemen,” Mr. Davis said of Messrs. Telemaque, Peters who will major in Computer Science and Mr. Fahie who will major in Architecture, have shown a desire to further their education, which is very important and to further their football. That was also a motivation in tying down everything.”
The players will arrive at Cloud County Community College in time for the offseason and settle into their classes, before the season begins in August.
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