Caribbean Times 100th issue - Friday 29th April 2016

Friday 29th April 2016 c a r i b b e a n t i m e s . a g 17
World Cup winning football coach to
conduct workshop in Antigua & Barbuda
A high-level two-day
football workshop involving
four coaches from Antigua
& Barbuda and six from
three other Caribbean countries
will take place on May
4 & 5, 2016 in St John’s.
Marcello Lippi, who
coached Italy to the 2006
FIFA World Cup title in
Germany, will conduct the
course for the ten (10) participants
under the auspices
of the Italian Olympic
Committee (CONI), the
Permanent Mission of Italy
to the United Nations and
Italy 2017-18 Candidate to
the United Nations Security
Council.
The Permanent Mission
of Antigua & Barbuda to the
United Nations, the ministries
of Sports and Foreign
Affairs in St John’s and the
Antigua & Barbuda Football
Association (ABFA)
have collaborated to host the
workshop.
The quartet of Antiguan
& Barbudan coaches
– selected by the ABFA
– are Rolston Williams, the
acting national team technical
director; Rowan Benjamin,
national Under-17
coach and School’s football
co-ordinator; Sowerby
Gomes, head of the Villa Lions’
Soccer Academy and a
German-licensed coach, and
Derrick Edwards, a UEFA B
licence coach and former national
team player.
The regional coaches
Marcello Lippi
are Kevin Davies and Dion
Godet from the Bahamas,
Michael Shaw and Stanley
Reneau of Belize and Jamaicans
Andrew Edwards and
Miguel Coley.
Mr. Lippi, regarded as
one of the greatest and most
successful managers in football
history, will conduct the
classroom sessions at the Sir
Vivian Richards stadium and
the on-field sessions with
twenty (22) Under-20 footballers
at the Antigua Recreation
Ground next Wednesday
and Thursday.
Apart from the World
Cup honour, Mr. Lippi
won the UEFA Champions
League with Juventus in
1996, five Italian championships
(with Juventus: 1995,
1996, 1997, 2002, 2003),
three Chinese Super League
titles, one Italian Cup, one
Chinese FA Cup, four Italian
Super Cups, one AFC
Champions League, one
UEFA Super Cup and one
Intercontinental Cup.
At the end of his professional
coaching career
in 2014, Mr. Lippi was the
third highest-paid football
coach in the world.
A statement from the
Permanent Mission of Italy
to the United Nations stated:
“as recognized by Agenda
2030, sport has always
been an important driver of
peace and development for
nations. Football, in particular,
is a universal sport that
is played in every corner of
the globe and for decades
has never ceased to attract
and excite fans. Its simplicity
makes it one of the most
widespread and democratic
sports - cutting across classes
of every population, while
its positive social impact can
be seen as early as in elementary
school years.
“Football is Italy’s national
sport, of which we
are very proud – especially
considering that Italy and
Germany are the only two
countries in the world to
have won the World Cup
four times, beyond the many
international successes of
Italian football clubs.
“For CARICOM countries,
football is one of the
sports most passionately
followed, with a particular
interest in European championships,
and national Caribbean
teams are regularly
represented in international
competitions.
“For these reasons, the
Permanent Mission of Italy
to the United Nations and
the National Italian Olympic
Committee (CONI) have
launched a joint, regional
initiative, in cooperation
with the Permanent Missions
of Antigua and Barbuda
and of Saint Vincent and
the Grenadines. Drawing on
the experience and professionalism
of Italian coaches,
this initiative can contribute
to further enhancing the
football skills of the national
teams of CARICOM countries.”
The first of two the workshops
will be held on May 2
& 3, 2016 in Kingstown, St.
Vincent and the Grenadines,
for the coaches from Guyana,
St. Lucia, Suriname,
Trinidad & Tobago and the
host country.
The Italian Olympic
Committee will cover the
costs of travel, accommodations
and meals of the participants.
For further information
contact Senator Colin James
at 464-5053 or 562-6227.