Coach gets frustrated on eve of world cup match
(CNS): Cayman’s football coach expressed his frustration over players not turning up for practice on the eve of a world cup game but the players say they are confident going into the fixture against Suriname at the Truman Bodden Stadium this evening. At a CIFA press conference Thursday Carl Brown, the technical director, said players selected for the national squad had not been turning up for training . Brown warned that while Cayman had enough talent to be the best team in the Caribbean, the team was looking at being embarrassed on the international circuit as one day it would not be able to pull together a full team. He warned that the team had not come together for training one time since the players lost against El Salvador. (Photo Dennie WarrenJr)
The country’s football coach suggested that the minister of sport look into the problem of why young men selected to play for the national squad don’t turn up for training and said he had not been able to get to the bottom of the problem of players not turning out.
“I really don’t have the answer,” the coach told Cayman 27 in an interview. “The football association, the minister of sports need to spend some time and find out why is it that our young men who have been invited to the national programme are reluctant to turn up. It is time, before we are embarrassed one of these days.”
Brown also raised the problem of immigration, saying that some of Cayman’s players who qualify to play for the national squad could not get Cayman passports, which is an issue as it is now a strict requirement that national players carry a passport for that country.
Despite the disappointments and lack of consistency with the team, Brown and the players are hoping to get a good result on Friday.
See Cayman27 interview with Brown here
Category: Sports
Cayman Brac footballers need a chance! They are many good footballers over here! Stop only looking in Grand Cayman!
Bring Stephen Tatum from the Brac to play the young man plays exceptionally well he is great striker.
Replace Brown with Cayman Brac Coach Mr. Sanford he will do better for our Country.
The players from Cayman Brac thats was called up to play was offered $50 for housing and food for a week how can you survive off that.
Why not call up some players from Cayman Brac .
The only qualifying rules should be the FIFA entitlement rules. Cayman is not putting out a competitive team because it limits its squad options too much. This is also why they don't need to turn up for training. We need the best 11 players that can play in the competition.
Football as it is, will go nowhare. they have become beggers, they have every thing provided for them, charge $$ at the gates and show now responsibility for the funds received.
get rid of all executives involved with cifa, start over with a new constitution and hold them accountable.
Bring on the Phillipinos – at least they will show up for training and for $4 an hour!
I want to see Thiago Cunha as the head coach for Men's football in Cayman. He is doing an excellent job with Women's football. The girls are showing up to practice and producing good results with their games. They are motivated to work hard and Thiago's influence has much to do with it.
Brac Vs Nat. FB Team
Have we all forgotten, a lil local Brac FB team beat up the CI National FB team few weeks ago!
Explain that to us Mr. Brown?
the only people that benifit from national teams here are the coachesa and management they get a salary.
players get nothing, if you are injured on the fielfd and cant play, who pay your bills? its just not worth it to play just becuase you love the sport, those days are gone,,, people have responsibilities… i hear its the same in all he naional teams here trak,cricket, football,etc
National FB Team is a waste of time and so is Jeff Webb! Can't he get it? The game been over since Renard & Gillo left in the 70's.
Good. Maybe now they can stop wasting all this time and resources on this silly pipe dream of World Cup qualification. It will never happen. Now, more than ever, the Government needs to stop pumpping hundreds of thousands of dollars in to this failed social experiment and spend it where it is most needed.
Cayman has always had and will always have a better opportunity to thrive in individual and small team sports. It's a population thing and yes, it really is that simple.
CIFA needs to take a long hard look at itself from the top down.
Throwing money at problems rarely makes them go away. I recall a time when the Cayman Islands National Coach was not paid a red cent. He was from Scotland and a teacher at the High School. During his tenure as both a coach for Strikers FC and the National Squad the players and the public turned out in droves (back in those days) to lend their support to the National Squad. We were all proud to represent the Cayman Islands regardless of the outcome.
Until CIFA address their own failings as an organisation to lead our national sport including the players they represent then this sorry situation will continue indefinately.
Pride, they say, comes before a fall.
"It is time, before we are embarrassed one of these days.”… ONE OF THESE DAYS?! The National football team has been an embarrasment for quite a while my friend… All the money the Government pumps into our National sport is a complete and utter waste…
why is this now being brought now at the 11th hour before the match!!
wasnt there sufficient time to weed out the noninterested players!
8-0. to Suriname. WOW, do my a favor, go and educate yourself on the game of football before your comment on football blogs because you are just making yourself look like an idiot. El Salvador are the strongest team in this round of qualifiying, they are head and shoulders above small nations like the Cayman Islands but the scoreline flattered them, and they even admitted that. Suriname are anything but a crisp passing team, they are physical and old school. I agree with everything else you wrote bar your prediction of the score and evaluation of the previous game. Score tonight 3-2 Cayman
How can you have a national team when you are not a nation? Just askin'
To Anonymous Fri 10/7/11 14:23 The same way that Northern Ireland can.
"He warned that the team had not come together for training one time since the players lost against El Salvador". HOW CAN THAT BE?? it doesn't even make sense to put them on the field in that case. They played poorly and lost to El Salvador – the natural reaction should have been to practice, practice, practice to improve.
Lack of discipline in the players – there is no other reason. It does not matter what coach we get; we have had some of the best in the world. Caymanian players do not have the drive or the passion and apparently no shame either. I paid money to see the last international game played here and encouraged everyone to go out to support the team, and believe me there was a lot of support.
However, what the supporters got in return was wishy-washy playing that reinforced the theory that the players just don't care. Why should they? They can get everything they want anyway. For some of the players from less priviledged countries, they play like their life depends on it – and in some cases IT REALLY DOES! For some they see this as their way out – they look at the BIG picture, where/what it could lead to. This may be the only time that they get to take an airplane ride or stay in a good hotel and they WANT IT – REALLY BAD.
Cayman players – it just does not matter – they're going to get the good life anyway.
Really sad – a lot of good money contnues to be pumped into this, and oh, forget about it keeping them free from drugs, etc.
Coach Carl Brown – find a team who really wants to WIN and then your job will become more rewarding.
Dont forget that most national team players are paid
I've heard from many coaches and players alike, that over the past few weeks there have been as little as 4-6 men showing up for National Team training. I also had the opportunity two weeks ago to witness it myself.
Why are we wasting money on such a venture if the players aren't interested. These same players won't attend National Team training but will attend their club team training instead. What's going on in the football fraternity? Is it the players at fault, they just don't want it? Is it the CIFA executive? or is it coach Carl Brown?
Much needs to be looked into to find the answers. Until then, suspend the qualifying campaign and stop wasting precious money.
Issues like these are why CIFA is having a hard time seeking adequate private sponsorship for their leagues and programs.
But why can't those who love to play and are good enough to play represent the Cayman Islands in the international arena?
Well, if they don't want to play, shut down the team! Why bother waste the money on coach salary and trips overseas for the team etc. Just use the money for some other programs.
Look at Squash for example. You have quite a few teenagers dedicating themselves to a pretty rigid training schedule and the the tournaments that have been held here have attracted quite a bit of international news and positive attention etc. Why not give those kids some of those funds to sponsor some trips overseas to have more opportunity to compete internationally?
If only you knew the truth!!!!! Someone should or maybe the public should be invited to these training sessions to see what really goes on before you boldly bass the players!!!. The issue here is really what has always been the problem with football whether it’s the league of the National Teams – players who are favoured over others and are not chosen by COMMITMENT – ATTITUTE – RESPECT – DISAPLINE! Let the public in to see and then things will change if people are willing to speak out and stand up! Other issue with the youth in Cayman are not the issue here with THIS NATIONAL TEAM …..please address each issue when appropriate.
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"ATTITUTE – RESPECT – DISAPLINE!"
Apparently "education" is the problem.
In other words they are choosen the same way everyone is choosen for key employee, work permits, any job in Civil service and most jobs in upper managment of any Government entity. Its Cayman. Sounds like they are a perfect example of how things are done here.
I agree with you before ppl start talking, they should get to understand the WHOLE story. Bet they didn't know that the players still had to go to work today, even thou they have a game tonight………….and that up until this morning, the employers still haven't received letter stating that the "Player" is going off Island on Sunday to represent Cayman…And they want to blame these guys for not showing interest!!!!!!! Please…… Sorry to say but CIFA need a change starting from the TOP!!!!!!!
I stopped going to the games when I could not recognize the players. Most seem to be non-Caymanians, hence the need for the passports.
A coach that can't motivate players needs to be replaced. Obviously, they have no respect for him. Reminds me of the Tevez Marino saga in the EPL.
I am waiting on he younger players from Clubs like Academy Sports Club to play for Cayman. Have you seen these kids play? There passing is incredible, they love the game and their attitude to training is one that should be adopted by the National team.
Better football and more fun to watch the Young ballas of Academy!!
People on here complaining that this is the Cayman Way, their lazy, they need free food, they need to be paid….HOGWASH!!! Then there are people defending the actions of the football players. When one complains about every little thing in life, they will get no where!!! It is obvious why Cayman is heading in the wrong direction!! While Caymanians have the option to play football – others have no option of recreational activities!
These players should want to play, not because they are getting paid, but because they love the sport!! If you are good at the sport, you can go many places in life, like free educational scholarships!!!
Cayman is in a bad way! Such a sad day for all of us. Visitors and natives alike!!
The spirit of this nation is at an all time low, a reflection of our poor, selfish greedy choices over the last 20-30 years or so, led by selfish, greedy people.
Did you see this team play their last game? No one wanted the ball, the players were looking away as if to say, "Don't give it to me."
Throw ins were mostly given back to the opposition as the taker would just try and get it up the field as a temporary reprieve.
Passing was non-existent as the Caymanian players engaged in the old-fashioned tactic of 'Hoof 'n Hope'.
Sorry to say, it will be more of the same tonight and those Suriboys with their crisp passing game will rip us to shreds.
Cayman's youth have a serious entitlement problem and then they get on the world stage and find out how poor they really are in the international arena. Our boxers were full of bravado going into the Worlds this week and took a good, old-fashioned, behind-the-woodshed beating.
There is no spine in the country's leadership and this is reflected all the way through the nation. Our insatiable quest for money at the cost of everything else has distracted us from the fact that if you become excellent at something, the money will come, not the other way around.
Having said that, there is still a remnant of well-grounded Caymanian kids who are proud of their heritage and have decent values, but sadly, I don't think this will be on display at Truman Bodden tonight.
My prediction Surinam 8 Cayman 0
http://www.soccerworldgame.com/
according to the article, many of the players couldn't get Cayman passports, so maybe the problem ISN'T "Cayman's youth have a serious entitlement problem" but–as the coach pointed out– an IMMIGRATION one! I'm not sure what that means but maybe there aren't a heap of Caymanians playing on the squad?
It shouldn't matter who is playing, but that they are representing the CAYMAN ISLANDS and we should be proud and show our support.
Passports are not an immigration problem. It is the FCO which controls who gets passports. And please, for once, can coaches stick to coaching and leave politics out of it. I would not go to his country and complain about how his government hands out passports – and he should not do it in mine.
Maybe the coach isn't good with motivating the people to play on the team and perhaps the team members who don't show up should just be dropped, end of story.
I am not surprised at the lack of dedication from the players.When I was playing we never had the facilities that these young people have today and yet we all turned out to play and to practise and who did not show up for practise did not get to play.Stop coddling these guys as they either tow the line or let someone else take their place.who is willing to work hard to represent their country.It should be an honour to do so and keep in mind that they are setting a bad example for our younger footballers.as well.Its a shame these days in many sports that the coach is made the scapegoat even though its the players themselves that cannot come through with the results.Change the players if need be and get a group together that are willing to sacrifice their time to play for their country.
Carl is correct, the Minister for Sport needs to get involved. When Frank McField was Minister for Sport he arranged for all of the National Team players to receive a stipend for training. I believe the amount was around $300 per month. Unfortunately, McField never had the cojones to demand that they also be subjected to regular drug tests.
Any player that does not have a Caymanian passport should NOT be qualified to play for Cayman. Period.
If Carl Brown wants the support of the Caymanian public then he needs to take the team back to its grass roots. Start with the under 17's a build a new team there. Give us a team that is free of drugs and an administration that is free of corruption and you will get our support.
The Minister get involved? PAID to train? What a joke!!! Its a disgrace to even suggest this. Perhaps you should take a look at the Rugby Union team for an example… they started with little support, got kids involved and grew the sport with NO PAY FOR THE PLAYERS!!! Now they are reigning U19 champions the last two years… despite the current players being average age of 16 – the final (& whole tournament) played here a few months ago was of incredibly high standard, and the support was fantastic. The Open Mens 15s and 7s teams are competitive, and has won the Caribbean Champs several times… and when those young men from the U19s are all competing there it will be even better.
All with NO PAY for the players…
CNS really need to get that sarcasm font. I did not recommend that they get paid to train, I simply stated the fact taht they were being paid when Frank was Minister of Sport.
Payments probably stopped after elections as that appears to have been one of the less successful vote-buying schemes.
Who cares?
Cayman's football should be nothing more than fun oriented recreational leagues. Taking it seriously is stupid. A population of some 25,000 Caymanian citizens is never going to produce a full team of worldclassplayers. Pretending that we can only allows a few well-placed individuals to profit from FIFA and CI government money.
Football could do great things in Cayman in the form of afterschool programs and encouraging post-school Caymanians to get fit and stay fit. But all this shooting for the World Cup stuff is ridiculous.
Interesting you say this. Yet for such a tiny island….we produce world class swimmers who have been to the olympics and who perform extremely well throughout the Caribbean. Take your tiny head out the garbage.
Since when is swimming a team sport? Albeit for the fact that there are team sports in Cayman which do get good results for the Cayman Islands i think it's a little off to compare 2 good swimmers with a long line of below average footballers and an overpaid coach.
Yes they have, with expat coaches and expat parents (at least 1 and often both).
My tiny head is in the garbage? Huh? First of all, it ain't that tiny. Second ofall, you are clueless.
Swimming is an individual sport. Of course Cayman can produce great individual athletes. Football, if you haven't noticed, is a team sport. Significantly different.
We may one day produce an elite professional football star. That is possible, no doubt. But, as I wrote earlier, we will never be able to field 11 worldclass footballers capable of competing at a high level. And to run around pretending that we can is a scam that a handful of people profit from. All the money invested into pipe dreams of international football glory would be better spent on youth leagues and recreational leagues.
Yes, but our swimmers practice upwards of 20 hours per week for many years, getting roughly 10,000 hours of purposeful and motivated practice in before the age of 18.
Read Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell.. 10,000 hours of practice like this is more important than raw talent.
Oh, and this issue with Cayman footballers is not new. Back in 1992-93 some of the players outright refused to leave the changing room to play an international until they were paid in cash, led by a prominent Cayman sporting hero.
Some responses re the comments on swimming :
– Yes, swimming is an individual sport, but it depends on motivated, focussed and technical training.. and this needs a squad of like-minded swimmers who motivate each other… when there are loads of swimmers in the (cold) pool at 7am in the Christmas holidays.. where are the other sports training ?
– Team. Look at the results of our little country at Carifta Swimming over many years.. impressive indeed.. and not just one or two swimmers… a consistent conveyor belt being produced. Again, dismiss the "talent myth" (read up on it), it is all about many, many years of hard work and dedication.
– Expat coaches and swimmers. Really ? That old myth ? First, almost all our swimmers were born in Cayman and know no other country, irrespective of where their parents are from. Second, many of our swimmers do have both parents "true born" Caymanians. Third, the national coach, Dom Ross, has lived here since he was a child… don't call him an expat to his face.. fair warning. Remember, we were all immigrants once… Cayman is a multicultural society… get used to it….. or are you saying that only those with expat parents can be dedicated enough to come to practice ? after all, swimming costs next to nothing in $$… just dedication.
No sense of entitlement in Swimming… just dedication, motivation and hard work. The question is… why can't football achieve the same ?
caymanians not turning up for work????……where have we heard that before????
To Anonymous Fri 10/7/11 08:50 Please stop bashing Caymanians and acting as if Caymanians have a monopoly on laziness. Ambitious expats are willing to come to Cayman to work ,the lazy ones don't..Of course Caymanians could also tell the tales of expats who hired expats just because they are from the same country and not necessarily because they were the best qualified.I would like to leave you with this little gem .: There's so much good in the worst of us ,and so much bad in the best of us.;therefore none of us ,should be finding fault with the rest of us.
awwww…..thats so nice and pc…..now try and adress the real issues!
Maybe it was raining. That is always a good reason not to do things like turn up for work.
What kind of compensation do these boys get for being on the Cayman Islands National Team?? None – my daughter was on a football team and all she got was INJURIES that I HAD TO Pay for!!! No insurance for the players and no money! sorry coach only you getting the big bucks.
Jeez what about NATIONAL PRIDE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Do we ever have some serious problems in this country!
Ha. Ha. Ha.
Apparently "Cayman National"pride requires "Cayman National Bank" deposits.
You should have health insurance and injuries are a big part of football.
One word; no "Dicipline"
That was two words
Coach, sorry to say but all of Cayman Is fed up. No food, no lights, no water, how do you expect these poor boys to practice. The Premier MacKeva, and all the wannabees Premiers, need to adress this situation.
Wow…so it’s CIG’s fault that these kids don’t show up to practice for the National team that they were selected (and presumably agreed) to play for? If they can’t be bothered turning up for practice they’ve already given up on themselves and their teammates. Give their roster spots away to those who want to represent their country or shut the program down and put the money into youth football programs for the next generation of players.
That is complete foolishness. These people have day jobs. Well paying day jobs at that!
It is probably because they have day jobs that pay well. When they get time off work they are either too tired or have other obligations such as family.
Are the players paid to play? In some other countries they are and playing is their job. I don't advocate paying players to play. For most it is not about the money it is the love of the game!
A solution could be as Cayman gives away status anyway. How about facilitating the players that need Cayman Passports to get one? How about enriching the love of the game in the community? Sometimes all factors aside, a sport can really bring a community together.
If they cannot commit to the team because of other obligations such as work or family then don't sign up!
This is recurring theme with Cayman Islands football and is a further evidence of the lack of discipline demonstrated by the young footballers of the Cayman Islands. Being a member of the team is a privilege that allows one to travel to other nations and represent the Cayman Islands on a world stage. Furthermore, it is a great opportunity to meet decision makers in both Cayman's public and private sector. Success and tenure on the team shows potential business partners and employers that one has the commitment and perseverance to see things through. Unfortunately, Cayman's young footballers have once again failed to see the broader benefits of representing their nation on an international level.