分类： sports

After four days of competitive action at the 2014 Commonwealth Games hosted in Glasgow, Scotland, the tiny track and field delegation from the Caribbean island nation of Saint Lucia has wrapped up its tournament run. While none of the team’s athletes advanced to a final event, the competition offered critical developmental and qualifying experience for rising stars, including one sprinter already bound for the 2024 Paris Olympic Games.

Leading the team’s performance was 23-year-old sprinter Michael Joseph, a resident of Gros Islet who currently competes collegiately at the University of Arkansas and holds Saint Lucia’s national record in the men’s 400-meter event. A 2022 Commonwealth Games finalist, Joseph kicked off his Glasgow campaign in the opening round of the men’s 400m on Tuesday. Drawn to the unfavored outer Lane 8, he held strong pacing through the race to cross the line third in his heat with a time of 45.84 seconds, securing a spot in the event’s semifinal round.

On Thursday, Joseph took to the track at EDF Scotstoun Stadium for his semifinal matchup, this time drawn to inner Lane 1. He crossed the finish line sixth in his semi with a time of 46.69 seconds, placing 13th overall across all semifinalists and falling just short of qualifying for the event’s final. Despite the early exit, the performance adds to Joseph’s resume ahead of his upcoming appearance at the 2024 Paris Olympics.

Joseph was not the only Saint Lucian 400m sprinter in Glasgow. Marvric Pamphile, a 31-year-old Choiseul native serving as a soldier in the British Army, also competed in the opening round of the men’s 400m on Tuesday. Pamphile recorded a time of 47.12 seconds in his heat, finishing 19th overall in the opening round and did not advance to the next stage of competition.

The first Saint Lucian athlete to compete at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow was hurdler Khailan Vitalis, who took on the men’s 110m hurdles in the opening heat round on Monday. Vitalis finished the race with a time of 14.46 seconds, placing 11th overall across all opening heats and missing out on a spot in the next round.

Unlike his teammates who will return home following the conclusion of the Glasgow Games, Vitalis immediately traveled across the Atlantic Ocean following his competition to Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, where he is set to compete as the sole track and field athlete representing Saint Lucia at the upcoming Central American and Caribbean (CAC) Games. Both the 2014 Commonwealth Games team and the CAC Games delegation are selected and managed under the oversight of the Saint Lucia Olympic Committee.

As the 2026 Republic Bank Caribbean Premier League (CPL) draws near, the Saint Lucia Kings have kicked off their pre-tournament preparation at their home ground, the Daren Sammy Cricket Ground, aiming to turn their 2025 regular season dominance into a historic title run. With several key players still tied up with West Indies national team duties and international franchise commitments, the core available squad got an early start to training on Thursday, putting in work ahead of the competition’s August 9 opening fixture.

Last year, the Kings turned heads across the Caribbean cricket circuit, topping the regular season table with a solid 5-3 win-loss record under the leadership of head coach Daren Sammy. However, their championship push derailed abruptly in the playoffs, where consecutive heartbreaking losses left them eliminated before a shot at the final. To address the gaps that led to that playoff collapse, the franchise’s management has overhauled the roster, with a deliberate focus on expanding the team’s spin bowling options – a move designed to add versatility and pressure on opposing batting lineups across all formats of the T20 competition.

A number of familiar faces have departed the franchise this offseason, including international stars Alzarri Joseph, David Wiese and Tabraiz Shamsi, as well as fan-favorite local players Johnson Charles and Shadrack Descarte. In their place, the 2024 CPL champions have recruited a talented cohort of global spin talent: Sri Lankan off-break specialists Maheesh Theekshana and Charith Asalanka, and dynamic Afghan left-arm spinner Noor Ahmad. Local fast bowler McKenny Clarke has also made a return to the squad, joining returning local talents Matthew Forde, fast bowler Keon Gaston, and promising young West Indies batsmen Ackeem Auguste and Jewel Andrew. The biggest leadership shift sees Roston Chase, a former CPL Player of the Season, take over as the team’s new captain for the 2026 campaign.

To consolidate the batting order, the franchise has retained New Zealand batsman Tim Seifert and local standout Johann Jeremiah, and added South African allrounder Schadley van Schalkwyk to the mix. Assistant coach John Eugene expressed confidence that the new blend of seasoned veterans and exciting young prospects will make the Kings a formidable contender in this year’s tournament.

“I think we have a very good chance of competing and a very good chance of winning,” Eugene told reporters during the first week of training camp. “I think we have some exciting talent, some new faces going into this season, but these are guys who have been in and around the regional circuit. We’re happy to have McKenny back. Keon is back, and Chase is leading. It’s unfortunate that we don’t have Johno [Johnson Charles] at the top, but that’s franchise cricket. We have to move on from there. I think with the blend of the exciting young talent that we have on show, in addition to the seasoned campaigners, we will definitely be a force to be reckoned with.”

Eugene also praised the appointment of Chase as captain, noting the veteran allrounder has long demonstrated the leadership qualities needed to steer the squad. “I think Roston has grown and shown a lot of maturity, even before you as captain,” Eugene said. “He is one of the guys who, you know, we could have always talked to in terms of advice and whatever it takes, you know, to build the team. So, it’s no surprise that he’s chosen as captain. I am sure he’ll do a fantastic job.”

The 2026 CPL schedule has set up the Kings perfectly to build early momentum in front of their home fanbase. After opening their campaign on the road against the Antigua & Barbuda Falcons at Arnos Vale Stadium in St Vincent & the Grenadines on August 9, the team will return to Gros Islet for five consecutive home matches at the Daren Sammy Cricket Ground. Their home stand kicks off on August 12 against the St Kitts & Nevis Patriots, followed by a rematch with the Falcons on August 14, a clash with Shadrack Descarte’s new side Barbados Tridents on August 16, a meeting with the Guyana Amazon Warriors on August 19, and a fixture against the Jamaica Kingsmen on August 21.

Currently, the Kings are in the middle of a seven-day intensive pre-tournament camp at their home ground, focused on clarifying player roles, aligning on team expectations, and ironing out tactical details ahead of the opening match. “We’re here right now at Daren Sammy in a seven-day camp, and obviously we’re going to look to tick a lot of boxes, a lot of roles and clarity of roles and expectations, you know, going into our first game,” Eugene said. “So, it’s an exciting time for us as usual every year. We’re just looking forward to executing as much as we can over the next seven days.”

A historic milestone is on the horizon for Saint Lucian netball, as the nation’s national squad, the Piton Sparks, prepares to make its first-ever appearance at the Central American and Caribbean (CAC) Games, hosted this year in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. The tournament is scheduled to run from August 3 to 7 at the Juan Bosch City Sports Complex, and the full team is set to depart for the host nation this Friday to acclimate ahead of their opening matches.

Currently sitting 31st in the global netball rankings, the squad has set clear, ambitious goals for their debut CAC Games campaign. Team captain Melika Destang outlined the group’s objectives in pre-tournament comments, noting that while the team is aiming for competitive wins and a potential podium finish, climbing the regional and world rankings stands as a core priority for this competition.

Destang also shared details of the team’s rigorous months-long preparation for the event. “Training has gone extremely well, and it’s been very intense,” she explained. “We kicked off with three months of dedicated strength and conditioning work to build our base fitness, then shifted to on-court practice, refining technical skills and game strategy. Everything has come together smoothly through the process.”

Acknowledging the step up in competition the team will face in Santo Domingo, Destang noted that the CAC Games will pit the Piton Sparks against far stronger opponents than the squad typically faces in regular matchups. “We know this is going to be a very competitive, high-intensity tournament,” she said. “It won’t be easy, but our main aim is to push ourselves and move up the regional ladder, whatever the outcome.”

Adding a major boost to the squad’s depth is the return of standout athlete Megan Nestor, a successful collegiate and professional basketball star who got her start in netball as a youth athlete. Nestor has stepped back into the netball space specifically to compete in the CAC Games, and says representing her home country at the international level was an opportunity she never considered turning down.

“Netball will always be my first love,” Nestor told local outlet St Lucia Times. “I picked up basketball because I earned a scholarship for the sport, and I’ve been fortunate to build a really successful career in it that I’m still proud of today. But coming back to my roots, back to the sport where I started, to wear the national jersey – that’s something special I couldn’t pass up.”

Nestor added that the team’s long-standing chemistry gives them an edge heading into the tournament. “Nearly everyone on this squad has played together for years, so we already know each other’s playing styles, strengths, and weaknesses. That cohesion has made training even smoother, and it’s already showing on the court.”

Over the five days of competition, the Piton Sparks are scheduled to face five tough regional opponents: Trinidad & Tobago, the host Dominican Republic, Bermuda, Jamaica, and Barbados. Despite the challenging draw, the entire squad has expressed confidence in their preparation and their ability to compete with the region’s top teams, as they make history in their first CAC Games appearance.

A growing rift has emerged within global soccer’s governing structure over a controversial $20 billion commercial initiative, with the Confederation of North, Central American and Caribbean Association Football (Concacaf) becoming the second major confederation to issue a formal rejection of FIFA’s proposed Forward Enterprise scheme. The rejection came after an emergency gathering of Concacaf’s member delegations, where widespread criticism was levied against FIFA’s procedural missteps in rolling out the plan.

At the heart of the dispute is FIFA President Gianni Infantino’s aggressive timeline for the proposal, which has set a mid-September deadline for all 211 of FIFA’s national member federations to approve the plan. Under the terms of the initiative, each national federation would receive $20 billion in total funding split across their individual soccer development programs. In exchange, FIFA requires member federations to agree to sell minority stakes in FIFA World Cup commercial rights to outside private equity investors – a provision that has sparked fierce pushback.

Initial discontent broke into open opposition earlier this week, when both Concacaf and the European Soccer Confederation (UEFA) publicly condemned FIFA for failing to consult member bodies before distributing the proposal. Together, the two confederations represent 96 of FIFA’s 211 national federations, giving their combined opposition significant weight in the governance debate. While both organizations initially raised procedural concerns, the conflict quickly escalated, with UEFA drawing a hard line on Thursday by threatening a full historic boycott of all FIFA competitions if the proposal is not withdrawn.

Hours after UEFA’s ultimatum, Concacaf followed with its own uncompromising rejection, led by president Victor Montagliani. In an official statement released after the emergency meeting, the confederation made clear its anger over the complete lack of administrative transparency surrounding the plan. “During the meeting, the membership expressed deep concerns about the lack of due process surrounding the proposal, the artificially short deadline imposed, and the absence of any review or approval by the relevant FIFA governance bodies,” the statement read.

Beyond procedural issues, Concacaf directly challenged FIFA’s core justification for bringing in outside private capital. The 2022 Qatar World Cup was the most commercially profitable in the tournament’s history, and the upcoming 2026 World Cup is set to be hosted across three Concacaf member nations – the United States, Mexico, and Canada – which has already generated record-breaking commercial revenue. The confederation pointed out that there is no logical financial need to bring in outside investment following the unprecedented success of recent World Cup tournaments, questioning FIFA’s stated rationale for the proposal.

Following the vote to reject the plan, Concacaf has laid out its next steps: it has tasked Montagliani, who also serves as a FIFA vice president, alongside FIFA Council members including Randy Harris of Barbados, with opening negotiations with FIFA leadership to explore alternative ways to boost development funding using the governing body’s existing cash reserves. The confederation has also directed its council representatives to push FIFA to require that all future organizational proposals follow formal due process and governance protocols outlined in FIFA’s official statutes.