BFA mum on Boyce’s role

Is Emmerson Boyce still the technical director of the Barbados Football Association (BFA)? It is alleged that Boyce and the BFA have parted ways but when contacted last night, president Randy Harris said he couldn’t confirm reports that the former Wigan Athletic defender and national captain was no longer with the national association. “When the […]

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Is Emmerson Boyce still the technical director of the Barbados Football Association (BFA)?

It is alleged that Boyce and the BFA have parted ways but when contacted last night, president Randy Harris said he couldn’t confirm reports that the former Wigan Athletic defender and national captain was no longer with the national association.

“When the BFA is ready, we will make a statement. I can’t confirm anything right now,” Harris told a Nation team.

But former men’s national player and ex-BFA council member Terry Sealy is questioning why the BFA remains so tight-lipped and has yet to send out a statement on the status of Boyce, even as the senior men’s national team departs the island yesterday to take on Curacao in their opening FIFA World Cup qualifier.

Sealy said Boyce’s noticeable absence from the men’s national set-up was blatantly obvious.

The national players, including the recalled defender Romelle Burgess, have been hard at training for their 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification journey under the supervision of newly appointed head coach Kent Hall.

While Sealy praised BFA for Hall’s appointment, he has raised an eyebrow over the association’s failure to announce the management staff that would be travelling with the men’s team.

“What is his [Boyce’s] role? Is he still the technical director of the BFA? We are not hearing anything, we are not seeing any grassroots programmes going on. Is he still being paid by the FA?” asked Sealy.

One of the more notable players to represent Barbados at the highest level, Boyce, an English FA Cup winner with Wigan Athletic Club in 2013, was promoted to technical director of the BFA in May 2022 when he took over from Somalian-born Ahmed Mohamed, who had left in February of that same year.

Before that, Boyce was the head of BFA’s women’s football development – a position he was given in 2020 – and recently served as interim head coach of the men’s senior team following the departure of Portuguese Orlando da Costa and his deputy Ricardo Fernandes.

When contacted by the Nation, Boyce, who spent the last couple of days playing football in Hong Kong for the Kowloon CC team in the HKFC Standard Chartered Soccer Sevens tournament, neither confirmed nor denied that he is still the technical director or is even still part of the BFA’s set-up. He said Harris would speak on it when that time comes.

“Obviously, it has been announced that Kent Hall is the head coach there for the next couple of games and he is going to do really well for the national team. So, from my side of it, I am not involved in that side, so I think the president will speak on that side of the national team. But I have full confidence that he [Hall] can perform really well in that role,” Boyce explained.

When probed further about his affiliation to the BFA, Boyce added: “I am helping out and the president when he is ready will speak on what needs to be said but I am just advising at the moment. We still have some fantastic projects and we still have to ensure those projects keep going.

“The girls’ [football] project is going really well and Fitzgerald [Carter] is doing a fantastic job and hopefully we will see the next set of super stars come through in the female games as well as the men and coaches as well.” (ML)

Barbados squad

Brandon Sumpter, Kevon Allsopp, Jireh Malcolm (goalkeepers); Akeem Hill, Andre Applewhaite, Ricardio Morris, Romelle Burgess, Zachary Applewhite, Shay Prescod, Mario Williams (defenders); Ackeel Applewhaite, Devonte Richards, Elijah Downey, Ethan Taylor, Jaron Oughterson, Nicoli Brathwaite, Hadan Holligan, Rommell Bynoe, Sheran Hoyte (midfielders); Tajio James, Nadre Butcher, Khalil Vanderpool-Nurse, Niall Reid-Stephen (forwards).

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