The BVIFA has termed the MOU a strategic partnership between the two entities.

Within the agreement, the BVIFA will have permission to utilise the college facilities for training purposes while the college will also have access to the Association’s facilities for shared vision activities. The BVIFA during this process will also provide regional and international contacts of interest to HLSCC.

In a brief statement following the signing of the MOU, BVIFA’s President Andy Bickerton stated: “This relationship will allow for the professional development of FA members and all stakeholders.”

President of HLSCC Dr Richard Georges said the MOU is merely a formal agreement between the two entities, as they have been collaborating previously over the years.

He said: “The College and the FA have been talking and working together for a number of years … and this Memorandum of Understanding formalizes this collaborative relationship while laying a foundation for more ambitious projects in the future.”

Further enhances BVIFA’s ambitions

Meanwhile, BVIFA’s Technical Director Dan Neville views the partnership as another stepping stone to the recently signed partnership between the BVIFA and the International Soccer Science and Performance Federation (ISSPF).

This is because the use of the HLSCC campus to provide training facilities will also aid to further enhance the Association’s ambitions to provide coaches and staff with top-class education programmes.

“We are delighted to be working in conjunction with college to deliver high quality live and online coaching courses in the BVI and ultimately regionally. HLSCC’s outstanding facilities and infrastructure will complement our coaching courses perfectly to deliver a high standard of sports education both locally and even regionally,” Neville stated.

BVIFA-ISSPF initiative

The recently-signed agreement with ISSPF will provide the BVIFA with online learning resources for local coaching, medical and management staff who are involved in working with membered players or teams.

The ISSPF is an online coach education platform which offers coaches, students, youth coaches, semi-professional and elite-level soccer coaching individuals the opportunity to enhance both the scientific aspects of performance coaching as well as current knowledge.

The courses within the agreement will include topics such as Nutrition, Psychology and Mental Skills, Youth Soccer Player Development, Training Methodology, Fitness Training, Tactical Analysis, Talent Identification and the Principles of Coaching.