The St. Vincent and the Grenadines Football Federation (SVGFF) will not be incurring any unnecessary debts in trying to get warm up matches for the senior national football team “Vincy Heat” as it prepares for the next phase of the CONCACAF Zone Russia 2018 World Cup Qualifiers, president Venold Coombs says.
SVG will oppose the United States, Guatemala and Trinidad and Tobago in the next round of competition.
While recognising the importance of warm-up matches, Coombs is mindful of what costs can be incurred by a Federation in doing this.
“I will not be like other presidents who went and took on warm-up matches then had to be writing a set of ‘bounce cheques’ all over the place. No not me. I will never put the Federation in any such debt,” Coombs said.
He said that playing friendly matches without many of the overseas-based players in the team did not make much sense and it would require having to pay the passages of the players to come for that match and then back to their clubs.
“It is all well and good for people to say to play a friendly match against Nicaragua or a team like that but that takes money and I do not see that we are going to get much by this. Many of our players are out playing club football and getting practice but let me say again match practice is important but we cannot just put ourselves in debt just like that.”
He said that the SVGFF has explored the possibility of having matches against St. Kitts and or Grenada and those are still possible.
Reports say that the team will play a warm-up fundraising match against New York FC on their way to St. Louis once the final arrangements can be put in place.
News has come that team was hit by another injury blow as striker Cornelius Stewart would be out for six months after injuring his ankle with his club PS Kemi Kings in Finland.
Stewart became the second striker in the last two months to suffer an injury following that of Myron Samuel, who is with the Seattle Sounders FC2.
Coombs said that Federation will be looking to see what assistance it can give to Stewart on his road to recovery.
Samuel, who suffered a broken foot, is reported to be back on the road to recovery and has begun light training.
Officials say that he should be ready to re-join the team for the US encounter.
The president said that Assistant Coach, Wesley Charles, is set to re-join the coaching staff soon after recovering from the burns that he suffered following an attack at his home a few weeks ago.