Saint Lucia’s first Semi-Professional Football League was launched at the Mindoo Phillip Park on Sunday, March 10. Scores of patrons packed the stands at the playing field to support the first two games of the tournament—Babonneau versus Marchand and Gros-Islet versus La Clery.

Minister of Sports, the Honourable Kenson Casmir, is pleased that the youth are engaging in meaningful activity. However he said the League is a lot more than sports.

“The tagline of this event speaks of leveraging football to transform lives. So along with this football programme there will be a parenting workshop for young men. We know that many complaints are about fathers and their roles in the household. The workshop will educate young men on what it means to be a father in the modern world. In addition, the NSDC has signed an MOU with the Ministry of Education and the Government of the Republic of China (Taiwan) to provide over $200,000 in financing for skills development sessions for young men.”

Minister Casimir detailed that more than 15 skills including bartending, plumbing, and carpentry will be offered to the young men in an effort to improve lives. He explained that while the government has advanced the initial funding for the tournament, he is confident that corporate sponsors will buy into the event.

“We already have proposals coming through for sponsorship, so we will be able to compensate footballers as the event grows and becomes even more popular.”

Minister Kenson Casimir, a former national footballer, stated that the Government of Saint Lucia aims to eventually do the same for other sporting disciplines.