The 2015 Malta Carib Youth Pro League season, which is already in progress, will again be an all-male affair.
At Friday's launch of the tournament organised by the TT Pro League at the President's Box, Queen's park Oval, Port-of-Spain, Dexter Skeene, the organisation's chief executive officer, said for now this division of the League would be an all-boys affair.
He said before the girls segment was introduced the TT Pro League needed to get the components in the adult division right and ensure the effective operations of the junior category was seamless, too. Only then would female athletes be invited to participate and exhibit their skills adding to the dynamics of the sporting event.
Skeene said the junior instalment of the League was where the organisation was able to drive inspiration and motivation. In his view, administrators of the League did not have the luxury of being short-sighted considering that the future of the entire organisation and the improvement in the standard of play resided in the quality of the youth football and the development programmes.
Competition in this season's tournament will feature athletes in the Under-13, U-15 and U-17 divisions. Last year's fixture had U-14, U-16 and U-18 footballers on show. While no cash awards have been assigned to the competition, individual and team awards would be presented.
But even as the footballers gear up, advocacy efforts through the use of social media was being applied to bolster awareness and positively promote these athletes during each game and stage of the League.
"We must encourage our players to experiment and be creative; not being afraid to make mistakes. Too many times our creative players are being stifled because the focus is purely on winnings and not development. These issues are part of a greater awareness that we must have if we are to strive for the excellence that is necessary to effectively take our youth to the stage where they make a smooth transition to senior and international football.
"The youth are invaluable. They are an investment, not expenditure. I have said it before and I will say it again: get your academy and development infrastructure wrong and your demise is certain; it is not a question of if, but when," he said.
"Additionally, in the absence of a well-structured and coherent youth development pathway, T&T football will never grace a senior Fifa World Cup on a continuous basis. It is at this stage that the right attitude, technique and skills are nurtured and properly developed. I urge, even implore the TT Pro league clubs to address in a serious and dedicated manner the proper development of their youth teams. It is at this level your best coaches and football minds should be focused."
He said local football administrators only had to look to the tried and tested systems being employed and deployed by champion international clubs Barcelona FC, Manchester United, and Santos FC.
In addition to the technical and tactical aspects of the game, Skeene said, the clubs identified dealt with the proper age specific physical preparation, exposure, psychological and educational aspects, which would produce complete players who were ready to play and perform creditably at the international level.
"Germany decided in 2003 to place the focus on producing more technically proficient home grown players and the German Football Association implemented a talent development programme, which was introduced with the aim of identifying promising youngsters from 8-14 served by a 1,000 part-time coaches, all of whom had to hold the UEFA B-Licence and were expected to scout, as well as train the players. The results can be seen in their performances on the world stage in both club and country competitions," said Skeene.
"This shows the importance of having and implementing a proper youth development structure. We have recognised this and the TT Pro League is laying the foundation and providing the platform for our youngsters to fulfil their true potential with this Malta Carib Youth Pro League. I anticipate a very exciting menu of youth football this season. We have and believe in the talent that resides in the Malta Carib Youth Pro-League."