For Empire Football Club, the 2024 Barbados Football Association Division One campaign is far more than just a series of matches — it is a deliberate push to return to the top flight of Barbadian football. After a blistering opening run of results, the Bank Hall-based side has climbed to the summit of the division’s points table, putting down an early marker as one of the competition’s title favorites. Their most recent outing on Wednesday served as a perfect demonstration of their current form, as Empire delivered a dominant 5-0 thrashing of Barbados Soccer Academy to extend their lead at the top.
In an interview with local outlet Barbados TODAY following the lopsided win, Empire manager Captain Al Walcott broke down the factors behind the club’s flying start to the season, crediting consistent preparation and intentional off-season recruitment for the team’s early success. “The real secret to our results right now is the consistency our players bring to every training session,” Walcott explained. “We’ve worked hard to build a structured, systematic style of play that we can adapt no matter what conditions or opposition we face on match day.”
The club’s off-season moves were specifically targeted at fixing a key problem that derailed their promotion push 12 months prior: a lack of cutting edge in front of goal. After finishing the previous campaign with too few goals to challenge for the top two promotion spots, the front office moved aggressively to add attacking talent to the roster, and those changes are already showing results. “We knew our finishing was holding us back last season, so we went out and added new attacking options to fix that gap, and so far that investment has paid off,” Walcott said.
The new crop of talent brings a diverse range of experience and skill to Empire’s side. Among the standout signings is Saint Vincent native Romario Denny, who has already added a new dimension to the club’s attack. Another notable addition is Arantes Lawrence, who previously featured in the Welsh Premier League and now splits his time between playing for Empire Masters and mentoring the club’s younger rising stars. Completing the new attacking group are Brazil-born Brino da Silva — a left back who regularly pushes forward to join attacks — and attacker Kevron Durrant, both of whom have contributed to the team’s improved goalscoring form.
The depth of the current roster has created a welcome challenge for the club’s coaching staff: selecting a starting 11 and matchday substitutes for each fixture. Walcott noted that as many as 23 players attend mandatory pre-match training sessions, with multiple players competing for every starting spot. While narrowing down the matchday squad is no easy task, Walcott emphasized that having this abundance of talent is a positive problem for any ambitious club to face.
Promotion back to the Barbados Premier League remains the team’s non-negotiable ultimate goal, a target that slipped out of reach last season despite a strong defensive performance. Last term, St Andrew Lions and Bagatelle claimed the two promotion spots, while Deacons and Silver Sands were relegated from the top flight. Walcott recalled that last season, Empire conceded far fewer goals than most of their promotion rivals, but too many drawn matches — at least six over the course of the campaign — left them short of the places they needed to move up. This season, the club is determined to correct that mistake and secure their return to the top tier of Barbadian football.
“Promotion to the Premier League is still our number one goal,” Walcott said. “We missed out last year, but we’ve fixed the gaps in our team, and we’re going to keep working every day to make that goal a reality this time around.”