On Wednesday, November 20th, long-serving coach of the Hot Springs Bath United Football Club, Alex Claxton, spoke candidly about his team’s preparations for the 2024 football season.
In an earlier interview with Curtis Morton Jr., the coach of the Queen City ladies’ team, Claxton referenced unfair practices by the St. Kitts and Nevis Football Association (SKNFA) regarding the scheduling of matches across different age levels. He mentioned that he had written to the SKNFA requesting fairness in the scheduling of matches between the islands, but his requests went unanswered.
Claxton expressed the challenges he faces in assembling teams, particularly with players who have jobs that require them to travel to St. Kitts. This often involves catching a boat and, in some cases, taking a bus to the venue, making it difficult for the team to be ready for match time, sometimes without sufficient warm-up time.
As a result, some of his youth teams were marked as ‘no show’, despite the fact that the SKNFA had been previously informed via letter about the challenges being experienced. The SKNFA responded by stating that they “reserve the rights to fixture games where necessary.”
Claxton is particularly disappointed given that the Chairman of the competition committee is from Nevis. He emphasized that his club is not seeking any unfair advantages over other teams. Instead, he is advocating for a more equitable distribution of games across the federation so that teams from both islands can compete against each other.
Moving forward, he hopes to have a meeting with the executive of the SKNFA to amicably resolve the current situation.