Beautiful Virgin Islands

Friday, Oct 24, 2025

Local female footballers call for BVIFA to do better

Local female footballers call for BVIFA to do better

Some players on the national women’s football team are calling on the BVI Football Association (BVIFA) to invest more in sports and address its so-called lacklustre approach towards developing the female team’s game.

Speaking with JTV News last week, three women – Kimberly Smith, Morgan Creque and Lil-Makeda Fahie – who represented the BVI in their recently concluded Confederation of North, Central America, and Caribbean Association Football (CONCACAF) Women’s World Cup Qualifying said the tournament was difficult for the BVI women’s team.

Fahie said one of the major issues was the fitness of the team. She noted most of the players work and it was hard to get efficient and sufficient time to get in shape.

“If you ask other women who played before us, they will testify that at the national level, it is a reoccurring theme that when we have these things coming up, the [BVI]FA tends to wait a bit too late to get us in shape. Since these last games, before then, we hadn’t really done anything. Even in the local league here we do not play that often,” Fahie said.

“Our younger players are more in shape because they have the time. I would say discipline among the players was a problem, but it is kind of a meet-me-halfway kind of thing. We were trying to negotiate certain things and every time we expressed ourselves, we were met with defence. It was never met with an open mind or some consideration. We were always shut down and everything was seen as an attack,” she added.

21-0 defeat


Creque noted that after their game against Haiti where they lost 21-0, the team saw on social media where other women’s football teams were sending letters to their associations and the BVI’s team decided to follow the same template as they recognised it was the only way they were going to be heard.

“We never had an after-tournament meeting. So, we decided that we were going to take this route as a team. The women were going to have to hold hands and go together for this want of change. So, we decided to write a letter and list all the points we wanted to change. We wanted a physiotherapist, we need different medicals, changes in coaching, and management and we sent it off to the FA. We said we will give them about two days to respond and all we got was ‘received your letter, we read your letter’,” Creque added.

Smith also added that the BVI is facing teams that have professionals in their ranks while the current team is made up of amateur players. She added the FA needed to do what is best for the women’s game and focus on the group of players it has.

Smith noted the existing regiment and formation of the women’s team try to reflect that of the men’s team but she said this cannot work as the women’s team, at this stage, is not as skilled or fit as the men’s team.

“We cannot go off how the men play because we are not as fit as the men, we don’t have the skills. It is different. You cannot put us in a formation like the men’s team when we are not at the level they are. We are not them,” she added.

You can’t get professional players without professionalism


Meanwhile, all three players agreed that with further investment in the female programme, the women’s game can be furthered in the territory.

“We have people that can play, we have people that can be professionals. But we need to focus on our strengths and weaknesses and build from there. We can be where Haiti is at. We just need the resources to do that. They are not paying attention to us enough for us to be playing professionally. You cannot get professional players if you do not have professionalism in any way,” Smith said.

First-ever payment


Creque also highlighted this was the first tournament she got paid to represent the national team and she has been playing since 2014.

“We only just started getting paid. This tournament, I can testify for myself since I have been playing since 2014, is the first tournament I have been paid for. I can testify other men have been getting paid way before. But I don’t think any women in the BVI have gotten paid before,” Creque said.

“We come against professionals. They play football in the morning, at lunch and in the evenings. We don’t have those schedules. And it is not just because of work. If we were paid enough to stop our jobs and actually dedicate our time, we would have done it,” she added.

Newsletter

Related Articles

Beautiful Virgin Islands
0:00
0:00
Close
Porsche Reverses EV Strategy as New CEO Bets on Petrol and Hybrids
Singapore’s Prime Minister Warns of ‘Messy’ Transition to Post-American Global Order
Andreessen Horowitz Sets Sights on Ten-Billion-Dollar Fund for Tech Surge
US Administration Under President Donald Trump Reportedly Lifts Ban on Ukraine’s Use of Storm Shadow Missiles Against Russia
‘Frightening’ First Night in Prison for Sarkozy: Inmates Riot and Shout ‘Little Nicolas’
White House Announces No Imminent Summit Between Trump and Putin
US and Qatar Warn EU of Trade and Energy Risks from Tough Climate Regulation
Apple Challenges EU Digital Markets Act Crackdown in Landmark Court Battle
Nicolas Sarkozy begins five-year prison term at La Santé in Paris
Japan stocks surge to record as Sanae Takaichi becomes Prime Minister
This Is How the 'Heist of the Century' Was Carried Out at the Louvre in Seven Minutes: France Humiliated as Crown with 2,000 Diamonds Vanishes
China Warns UK of ‘Consequences’ After Delay to London Embassy Approval
France’s Wealthy Shift Billions to Luxembourg and Switzerland Amid Tax and Political Turmoil
"Sniper Position": Observation Post Targeting 'Air Force One' Found Before Trump’s Arrival in Florida
Shouting Match at the White House: 'Trump Cursed, Threw Maps, and Told Zelensky – "Putin Will Destroy You"'
Windows’ Own ‘Siri’ Has Arrived: You Can Now Talk to Your Computer
Thailand and Singapore Investigate Cambodian-Based Prince Group as U.S. and U.K. Sanctions Unfold
‘No Kings’ Protests Inflate Numbers — But History Shows Nations Collapse Without Strong Executive Power
Chinese Tech Giants Halt Stablecoin Launches After Beijing’s Regulatory Intervention
Manhattan Jury Holds BNP Paribas Liable for Enabling Sudanese Government Abuses
Trump Orders Immediate Release of Former Congressman George Santos After Commuting Prison Sentence
S&P Downgrades France’s Credit Rating, Citing Soaring Debt and Political Instability
Ofcom Rules BBC’s Gaza Documentary ‘Materially Misleading’ Over Narrator’s Hamas Ties
Diane Keaton’s Cause of Death Revealed as Pneumonia, Family Confirms
Former Lostprophets Frontman Ian Watkins Stabbed to Death in British Prison
"The Tsunami Is Coming, and It’s Massive": The World’s Richest Man Unveils a New AI Vision
Outsider, Heroine, Trailblazer: Diane Keaton Was Always a Little Strange — and Forever One of a Kind
Dramatic Development in the Death of 'Mango' Founder: Billionaire's Son Suspected of Murder
Two Years of Darkness: The Harrowing Testimonies of Israeli Hostages Emerging From Gaza Captivity
EU Moves to Use Frozen Russian Assets to Buy U.S. Weapons for Ukraine
Europe Emerges as the Biggest Casualty in U.S.-China Rare Earth Rivalry
HSBC Confronts Strategic Crossroads as NAB Seeks Only Retail Arm in Australia Exit
U.S. Chamber Sues Trump Over $100,000 H-1B Visa Fee
Shenzhen Expo Spotlights China’s Quantum Step in Semiconductor Self-Reliance
China Accelerates to the Forefront in Global Nuclear Fusion Race
Yachts, Private Jets, and a Picasso Painting: Exposed as 'One of the Largest Frauds in History'
Australia’s Wedgetail Spies Aid NATO Response as Russian MiGs Breach Estonian Airspace
McGowan Urges Chalmers to Cut Spending Over Tax Hike to Close $20 Billion Budget Gap
Victoria Orders Review of Transgender Prison Placement Amid Safety Concerns for Female Inmates
U.S. Treasury Mobilises New $20 Billion Debt Facility to Stabilise Argentina
French Business Leaders Decry Budget as Macron’s Pro-Enterprise Promise Undermined
Trump Claims Modi Pledged India Would End Russian Oil Imports Amid U.S. Tariff Pressure
Surging AI Startup Valuations Fuel Bubble Concerns Among Top Investors
Australian Punter Archie Wilson Tears Up During Nebraska Press Conference, Sparking Conversation on Male Vulnerability
Australia Confirms U.S. Access to Upgraded Submarine Shipyard Under AUKUS Deal
“Firepower” Promised for Ukraine as NATO Ministers Meet — But U.S. Tomahawks Remain Undecided
Brands Confront New Dilemma as Extremists Adopt Fashion Labels
The Sydney Sweeney and Jeans Storm: “The Outcome Surpassed Our Wildest Dreams”
Erika Kirk Delivers Moving Tribute at White House as Trump Awards Charlie Presidential Medal of Freedom
British Food Influencer ‘Big John’ Detained in Australia After Visa Dispute
×