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President Randy Harris, weak but strong

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President of Barbados Football Association (BFA) Randy Harris has occupied the office although the performance of Barbados football has slipped to an embarrassing level during his tenure.

BFA President Randy Harris and FIFA President Gianni Infantino 

It helps us to stay healthy, fit, and active. It teaches us the value of teamwork and encourages us to work hard and never give up. Sports also help us develop discipline, dedication, and commitment, which are essential values for success in life. It is also a great way for people to socialize and make new friends.

EDUCBA

It must be obvious sports is not only everything EDUCBA describes, it is also a trillion dollar global business. Where there are big business decisions being made expect to find political factors at play and corruption.

The world’s most popular sport is football (soccer). In recent weeks a controversy triggered by suspended president of the Spanish Football Federation Luis Rubiales planting a kiss on a female player in his exuberance at Spain winning the women’s World Cup, and the ensuing debate amplifies the importance placed on holding on to executive positions in sports, especially soccer. In the face of global condemnation he refuses to resign.

Back on the rock, local President of Barbados Football Association (BFA) has occupied the office although the performance of Barbados football slipped to an embarrassing level during his tenure. Barbados is currently ranked 166 out of 208 countries listed. Importantly when Randy Harris was elected to the post in 2012 Barbados was ranked 143 out of 206 countries. The blogmaster likes to keep things simple. Barbados has not improved in its FIFA world positional ranking under Randy Harris. It therefore begs the question why is he being reelected to the position. Are the actors involved satisfied with mediocrity? The answer when it comes to FIFA is in the politics.

Despite Barbados mediocre performance over the years, the little man Randy Harris was elected as President of Caribbean Football Union (CFU) in 2021 under the protective eye of President of FIFA Gianni Infantino. From the comfort of your sofa you can watch FIFA Uncovered or read the book Red Card to understand why holders of football executive positions will not want to demit office even for a good reason. Do you recall Minister Ronald Jones as a minister of the Barbados government holding on to the position of president of the BFA despite intense criticism?

Coming out of the blog Sports needs an Oba the suggestion was made BU should highlight a few of these deadbeat local sports association if we are to be serious about unpacking the issues affecting local sport. Today the blogmaster had to listen to Randy Harris commenting on Barbados’ likely success against 174 ranked Montserrat in a CONCACAF Nations League, Group B draw scheduled to be played tonight (8 September 2023).

The blogmaster’s position is simple, why has President Randy Harris been elected as president of the BFA continuously from 2012 and there has been no commensurate improvement in the performance of the national teams if we use FIFA’s rankings? Unless there are other metrics to measure the success of President Harris he must be adjudged to be a failure.

Long may the mediocrity continue!

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80 responses to “President Randy Harris, weak but strong”

  1. David Avatar
    David

    BOA battle

    Seven vying for director spots of sports body

    INCUMBENT DIRECTORS Ytannia Wiggins and Craig Archer are in for a fight to retain their seats on the board of the Barbados Olympic Association (BOA). The pair will face the polls of sports administration, along with five other candidates, in today’s election at Hilton Barbados.
    Nicholas Branker of the Barbados Volleyball Association, Barbados Chess Federation president Allan Herbert, Olympic medallist Obadele Thompson, general secretary of the Athletics Association of Barbados Trevor Welch, and Barbados’ hockey coach Dominic Hill seek to unseat the incumbents who have both sat on the board since 2017.
    Of the five, only Herbert has previously sat on the BOA board with a short one-year stint when he filled a vacancy in 2021.
    All boast of a lengthy journey in sport, however, the ball is now in the hands of the island’s numerous sporting bodies to decide the best two officials to propel sport locally and abroad.
    Wiggins, the lone female in the race, and Archer, are outgoing directors in an election in which Cammie Burke, Erskine Simmons, and Orson Simpson will all run uncontested for the posts of vice president, secretary general, and treasurer, respectively.
    Wiggins, 46, has sat on the BOA board since 2017. She is chairman of the Women in Sport Commission, and has also worked with at-risk youth.
    Archer, 64, can boast of 17 years on the board. First serving from 2001 to 2012, and then 2017 until now, the civil engineer has also led the Barbados Squash Association for 16 years as its longest serving president.
    Hill, an ex-national hockey player with over 50 caps, is currently serving his third term on the BOA’s Sports For All Commission.
    Welch, a perennial treasurer and general secretary of the AAB, won the National Sports Council’s Sports Administrator of the Year Award in 2007.
    (RW)

    Source: Nation

  2. David Avatar
    David

    https://www.instagram.com/reel/CxMZ-bSIlsA/

  3. TheOGazerts Avatar
    TheOGazerts

    A very small point
    I would have love to see the interviewers and the interviewee at the same as I get the impression he is not looking directly at the person posing the question when he is answering.

    Eye contact or lack of eye contact is one of the measure is use. You may ask ‘For what?’

  4. David Avatar
    David

    BFA PRESIDENT SAYS IT IS STILL TOO EARLY TO ASSESS TRIDENTS’ PERFORMANCES.

    By Rawle Toney

    President of the Barbados Football Association (BFA), Randy Harris has maintained that it is still too early to judge the performances of the senior men’s football team.
    In fact, Harris, who also serves as the president of the Caribbean Football Union (CFU), suggested that he might be in a better position to assess the Tridents next year following the conclusion of the 2023-2024 Nations League.
    The Tridents, competing in Group B of League B, currently find themselves at the bottom of the four-team table, having yet to secure a victory in their first two matches.
    They began their campaign with a narrow 3-2 loss at home to Montserrat, but were then trounced 5-1 by Nicaragua in their second game in Managua.
    When asked by Barbados TODAY about his view of the team’s performances to date, Harris responded, “I’m not certain whether I’m pleased or not pleased…We play football to win.
    “There are a lot of influences outside of the national team that affect what happens on the field, we’re trying to get it right. I have a vision for football and my vision doesn’t end in 2023. We’re putting programmes in place and trying to build on the development of football in Barbados. We dont expect results right away, it will take some time to see the fruits of what we’re doing,”
    Harris pointed out that the Tridents’ recent results had to be looked at in their entirety.
    He explained that the changes in Concacaf mean that countries without a professional football system were now competing against teams composed of their best players who ply their trade professionally.
    “The other thing is, that when you consider that football in 2023 is not what it was in 1980 or 1990, in that there is now one Concacaf and we are playing against teams that are now fully professionalised. We have not reached that stage as yet,” Harris admitted.
    “I think you can understand that there’s a difference between an experienced doctor and an intern and that is what we are doing here at the moment; playing interns against specialists. Obviously, the attitude towards professionalism will start from a young age and we have to recognise that and that is what we are working towards.”
    Barbados is scheduled to compete again on October 13 and 16 in consecutive matches against the Dominican Republic, with one game at home and one away.
    The Tridents will host Nicaragua on November 17 and conclude their groupstage campaign with an away fixture against Montserrat on November 20.

    rawletoney@barbadostoday.bb

  5. The pain is real. We suck at soccer Avatar
    The pain is real. We suck at soccer

    “He explained that the changes in Concacaf mean that countries without a professional football system were now competing against teams composed of their best players who ply their trade professionally.”

    What does this mean?
    We have no professional players?
    Our best players are not good enough to compete with the best elsewhere?
    Our best players not good enough to become professional players elsewhere

    “I think you can understand that there’s a difference between an experienced doctor and an intern and that is what we are doing here at the moment; playing interns against specialists. ”

    Why not just say we suck? How interns get in this?

    “Randy Harris has maintained that it is still too early to judge the performances of the senior men’s football team.”

    These guys have a losing streak that is longer than time. Hopefully, he will judge them before the second coming and on a 0 to 4 scale have sucks at 0 and sucks at 4.

    Not going to sit here and watch them lie to you. The grade is in. Sucks at all aspects of the game. Get real.

  6. Barbados vs Northern Invaders - a must win Avatar
    Barbados vs Northern Invaders – a must win

    I am not saying that you have to beat every other team, but win at least one game.

    Create a team with 11 men from St Lucy and call them the Northern Invaders. On Nov 30 invite them to a game and beat the hell out of them. Pay them to lose if you have any doubts

  7. Northern Invaders game canceled Avatar
    Northern Invaders game canceled

    Someone PM me and told me that St Lucy has about 10,000 people and plenty more folks in the diaspora. Given what happened against that small island with just 4,000 … I now see that this was a bad idea.

    Here comes a great idea. What if we pick the team from those who comment or are commented on here? The BU All Stars captained by TheOG.

    If the national team cannot beat these blowhards, I turning up at immigration with passport, digital ID, birth certificate and handing them in and cussing on my way out of the office.

  8. TheOGazerts Avatar
    TheOGazerts

    Game tonight with Saint Vincent and the Grenadines

    The population is 104,000.
    Don’t try the number of islands excuse.

  9. TheOGazerts Avatar
    TheOGazerts

    20:41
    Barbados women has a 2-0 lead

  10. TheOGazerts Avatar
    TheOGazerts

    21:59
    Barbados 3-0

  11. TheOGazerts Avatar
    TheOGazerts

    53:34
    4-0
    Love the hustle of these Bajan women

  12. TheOGazerts Avatar
    TheOGazerts

    74:00
    5-0

  13. Telling you as it id Avatar
    Telling you as it id

    Great game by the young women of Barbados.
    Good passing, great energy, always in attack mode, hungry for goals. One young lady had a hat trick.

    No one can jump on a bandwagon faster than I can.

    Good game. Go Barbados.
    —xx—
    Negative note: was surprised to see a few from the opposing team with a little bulge in the middle.

  14. David Avatar
    David

    We have to continue to search for ways to hold elected officials feet to the fire.

    ——————————

    Luis Rubiales: Ex-Spanish football federation chief given three-year ban by Fifa

    https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/67262447

  15. David Avatar
    David

    Here we go again.

    BFA had to let go coach

    IT’S BEST that the Barbados Football Association (BFA) decided to cut its losses early and ended the association with Portuguese coach Orlando DaCosta.

    To anybody with a minimal knowledge of the sport, it was clear that local football had taken another two steps back under the charge of the Portuguese.

    It was like a ship in mid-ocean with no compass to show the way home. It appeared to be rudderless and sinking was an option waiting to happen.

    The two recent 5-0 and 5-2 maulings by the Dominican Republic were more than enough to indicate that a change in coaching was necessary.

    I am certain that calls for his sacking from all corners put pressure on the BFA to move swiftly to end the relationship.

    Mind you, they were very patient with DaCosta’s predecessor, Trinidadian Russell Latapy and rushed to his defence on occasions when many of the fans didn’t believe it was right to do so. It was as if they were too sentimental in his case.

    Latapy seemingly walked away on his own terms and joined compatriot Dwight Yorke as an assistant coach for his Australian club side.

    By then, some of the results were shocking, alien to Bajan football culture and it meant whoever took over the reins had the unenviable task of turning things around to the satisfaction of the fans.

    Things were so bad that some usual suspects used social media, in particular, to blame BFA president Randy Harris for the debacle. I thought that aspect was unfair and some opinions may have been formed on the grounds of malice. Then again, there is a saying that all roads lead to the top.

    The hot seat

    It was against this background of frustration and rancour that DaCosta and his assistant came into the hot seat. They were set up to melt in the heat because they inherited a team that was very low on confidence and a set of players who may have been too conscious of a supporters backlash if they didn’t do well. Honestly, it didn’t necessarily have to be DaCosta but anyone who took over from Latapy.

    It’s my understanding that Latapy had communication issues with some of the key players and so did DaCosta. In any realm of sport, players have the power to make or break a coach.

    I’m not saying that’s the only reason the Tridents have failed to perform at a competitive level in the past three years but without ceding control to the dressing room, it’s still extremely important to be on good terms with the players if you want their support.

    Better still, there must be a method to mould mutual respect to begin with or the wheels can come off the wagon sooner than you think.

    I don’t think the Portuguese ever knew which was his best starting 11 or the positions best suited to some of the players. I will concede that every player in a squad always believes they are good enough to start but it’s still up to the coach to decide how best to use his resources.

    Add insult to injury

    Another reason I think DaCosta fell down was by openly giving too much credit to opponents who had just soundly beaten his charges. Being gracious in defeat is far different from making public utterances that further add insult to injury or deflate the players’ confidence.

    Yes, you can talk sternly to your players if you thought that they didn’t live up to their responsibilities but appearing to throw them under the bus publicly is akin to committing football suicide.

    It is essential for coaches to appreciate and understand the culture of the players and not try to divert from that tenet overnight. Add what you think is missing but don’t substract either. Finding the right balance of turning ideas into positive action might be a better way of getting results required.

    Technical director Emmerson Boyce takes over as interim coach and it’s left to be seen what difference he makes in the final two matches of the Nations League. If the team wins under his guidance there might be the temptation to let him function in both capacities. I won’t encourage it because a technical director has to plan for the overall development of the sport so there must be a distinct separation of powers.

    In making a selection for a long-term coach, for me it can be Boyce or another suitably qualified Bajan.

    Andi Thornhill is an award-winning, experienced freelance sports journalist and broadcaster. Email: andithornhill@live.com


    Source: Nation

  16. TheOGazerts Avatar
    TheOGazerts

    Now I am not an award-winning, respected and experience sports journalist, but I am avid soccer fan, preferring the Premier League but paying for access to Italian, French, Italian and South American soccer. I believe that I am qualified to comment. There will be some speculation. This is not a report that you will like.

    Women,
    I think it was against Saint Vincent when I saw our women playing some beautiful soccer. They were putting together passes, out maneuvering their opponents and scoring goals.

    The next match
    (1) the team look different, (some looked out of shape)
    (2) instead of soccer they were playing kickball and
    (3) and the last defender was slower than every other player on the field. It was not painful watching the opposing team get the ball, head to our goal and she was jogging behind them.

    The joke that I made to myself was that the coach had brought on his family and girlfriend. My wife who is my opposite in every way (3 times nicer) asked “Are these the best football players in the nation”.

    The first job of any coach would be to search the island for more players.

    Men
    I swear that every time the men get the ball, they would head towards their own goal. Passing backward is a large part of their game. I would swear at my television and fall asleep. Horrible

    I think that before they build a new stadiums and hire new coaches they should
    (1) buy soccer balls and distribute to the villages,
    (2) send scouts around to identify potential players for the national team,
    (3) the requirement of having two feet (LR- left and right, LL and RR) must be upgraded,
    (4) practice kicking the ball towards an open goal
    (5) search for players – friends and family of coaches cannot make the team

    New players are needed. Forget the current crop of heroes and Pelé. You are not going to win anything with what we have. Kick out the coaches and players and start fresh.

    Which come first .. the chicken of the egg.
    The new whine is that other team have players who play the game outside of their country and we don’t. Did you ask yourself why? It is because we don’t have people who can play the game outside or inside the country. If we had good players, some would have made it overseas.

    Apologists … keep quiet

  17. Hants Avatar
    Hants

    @ TheOGazerts,

    Thiery Gale

  18. Hants Avatar
    Hants

    https://sportsmax.tv/football/regional/item/127196-bajan-winger-thierry-gale-joins-sk-rapid-wien-on-four-year-deal

  19. Hants Avatar
    Hants

    @ TheOGazerts,

    https://us.soccerway.com/players/players_abroad/barbados/

  20. David Avatar
    David

    A telenovela drama of the BFA and their Trident

    Article by Barbados Today
    Published on
    November 10, 2023

    Column – Hear me Out – A telenovela is a Latin American serial drama that’s like a never-ending soap opera, with a plot more twisted than a pretzel and a cast that’s seemingly glued together.
    Kooyman Brochure 20th Oct – 18th Nov – 300×300

    Strangely enough, it’s a spot-on comparison of football in Barbados, especially when you’re focused on the senior men’s national team, except the only moving parts are the coaches but it has all the melodrama, and sometimes even more twists than a telenovela plot.

    Football takes centre stage not just on the pitch, but also in the captivating off-field drama, where the real action unfolds.

    It’s almost as if the coach’s chair is a revolving door, and often, the coach ends up being the one left standing without a seat.

    Enter Orlando da Costa, the former head coach of the Barbados Tridents. According to a press issued by the Barbados Football Association (BFA) earlier this week, they bid farewell to da Costa on amicable terms when his contract clocked out.

    But, let’s call a spade a spade, shall we? Football in Barbados, especially for the senior men’s national team, is in a state of organised chaos.

    Even without 20/20 vision, you’d have to be Stevie Wonder himself not to see that da Costa’s departure had a lot to do with Barbados’ rocky performance in the Concacaf Nations League.

    During the Portugese’s tenure, the Tridents conceded an astonishing 18 goals in just four matches. That’s more goals against them than a piñata at a birthday party!

    Now, let’s take a trip down memory lane.

    Since March 23, 2016, Barbados has played 46 matches, managing only nine wins and nine draws.

    Zooming in on their Nations League escapades, since their debut in 2018, they’ve played 20 games, with 14 losses and just six victories.

    To put it bluntly, in the past three years Barbados has won just three matches, spanning everything from World Cup Qualifiers to two rounds of the Nations League and six international friendlies.

    Their lacklustre performance is translated in FIFA’s world ranking, which shows Barbados dropping from 144 in 2014 to a minnow-like 174 today.

    The BFA’s coach shenanigans could give a telenovela a run for its money, and the senior men’s national team seems to have more head coaches than a chameleon has colour changes in a decade – a dazzling dozen to be exact!

    It’s a real-life soap opera with a touch of “Coach Swap” – the reality show we never knew we needed.

    Remember the fleeting Brazilian cameo of Marcos Falopa? He barely had time to unpack his sunscreen. Then there was the Somalian, Ahmed Mohamed Ahmed, who graced us with his presence for two whole years (2017-2019).

    And let’s not forget Trinidad and Tobago’s legendary Russell Latapy (2019-2022), who experienced his fair share of blame, just like da Costa.

    The sizzling query on everyone’s minds is, “When do we stop gazing at the stars and start examining the BFA’s playbook?”

    The game of football in Concacaf has undergone a facelift, thanks to Canadian, Victor Montagliani, who, since taking the reins in 2016, has been preaching the gospel of “One Concacaf” and introduced the Concacaf Nations League in 2018.

    This new game plan bid farewell to the Caribbean Football Union-organised Caribbean Cup and challenged teams to find their ‘A’ players.

    Unfortunately, Barbados seemed to have missed the memo.

    Today, football is a clash between the pros and the Sunday league heroes. The BFA, through its president, Randy Harris acknowledges this fact, but their bridgebuilding skills seem a bit rusty.
    When it comes to domestic football in Barbados, it’s like playing scrabble with your grandparents – a delightful stroll down nostalgia lane, but you won’t be spelling out “Championship” anytime soon.

    In all seriousness, it’s time to spice up the game and turn those triple-word scores into triple-threat opportunities for Barbados’ football future.

    However, the reality is that Barbados is struggling to attract top-league international players who could give them an edge.

    So, as much as we’d like to blame coaches, maybe it’s time to point the finger in another direction.

    At this stage, even if the BFA managed to pull a rabbit out of a hat and summon Josep Guardiola, unless they’ve got a surprise up their sleeve and don’t serve him the same old system sandwich, the great Pep might be in for a reheated tragedy, like a Shakespearean play stuck in an endless loop.

    Let’s hope the next episode in Barbados’ football saga brings a breath of fresh air and some wins to cheer about. rawletoney@barbadostoday.bb

  21. TheOGazerts Avatar
    TheOGazerts

    I see here that the writer used the words ‘organized chaos’. I had previously referred to Barbados as a place of ‘ordered chaos’.

    It is inevitable! Folks will realize that the fancy speeches, institutions, initiatives, courts, commissions… are just placeholders and a charade. A place full of empty suits, empty buildings and make believe people is where we are at.

  22. TheOGazerts Avatar
    TheOGazerts

    Two excerpts
    (1) “However, the reality is that Barbados is struggling to attract top-league international players who could give them an edge.”

    This does not make sense. The top league international players that other nation teams are attracting are citizens or children of children in the diaspora. We have this failure because our sons and daughters do not show football talent.

    (2) ‘So as much as we’d like to blame coaches, maybe it’s time to point the finger in another direction.’

    I have already pointed my fingers in the other direction.
    See TheO on November 8 above.

    Blogmaster, my head may have gotten too big, but I am beginning to think some folks are raiding BU for ideas. Time to invest in p…ism software.

  23. Controlled chaos Avatar
    Controlled chaos

    Google
    “Most would say that “organized chaos” refers to a complex situation or process that appears chaotic while still having enough order to achieve progress or goals.”

    I am wondering if “controlled chaos” is a more apt description of what we have in Barbados. “Ordered” and “organized” may not be appropriate as they seem to hint at some beneficial outcome for all. A chaos without malice.

    Our chaos is controlled piracy,controlled lawlessness, controlled abuse of the weak, justice dispensed at different metered rates; a chaos brought on by sheer incompetence.

    Think of a train out of control. If it remains on the track it will still move in some direction. That is what the framework established prior to or at independence does … it keeps our train on the track. It is controlled chaos

    With these guys tampering at the Constitution we may soon lose any control that still exist. The train is going off the track.

  24. David Avatar
    David

    BU has been a source of ideas, issues and related for others from its inception. The blogmaster has no issue with it. It is a public service blog.

  25. David Avatar
    David

    It is ‘pon dee replay’ but it must be said, another coach is coming and from the FIFA puppet Randy Harris’ mouth, another foreigner it will be.

  26. David Avatar
    David

    Randy Harris was returned as President of the BFA. We swim in mediocrity.

  27. Artax Avatar
    Artax

    David, “another foreigner it will be?” Ironically, Randy Harris is a Grenadian. Barbados football continues on a ‘downward spiral’ under Harris’ leadership. As at April 4, 2024, Barbados’ world ranking is 177, while Jamaica is at 55 and Trinidad, 98. CONCACAF ranking index indicates BGI is at 33. Surely Harris’ tenure has been abysmal so far…… for which BFA members reward him with re-election.

  28. David Avatar
    David

    https://youtu.be/zNPuyZtBF74

  29. Patrick Raymond Avatar
    Patrick Raymond

    Sadly, following the passing of the TTFA’s Ken Galt, a CFU pioneer, six months after the CFU’s inauguration on January 28 1978 in Port-au-Pince, Haiti, and the unfortunate assassination of the first CFU President, Suriname’s Andre Kamperveen, the regional game has been destroyed, first by the ‘Pirates of the Caribbean’ – Jack Warner and Jeffrey Webb, followed by a string of probably well-meaning, but definitely incompetent, clueless, football idiots, who even with CONCACAF’s largest regional governing majority, the CFU’s 31 Dutch, English, French and Spanish Member-Associations, are led and governed, by CONCACAF’s 10 other MAs. You can do the math… which is greater, 31 or 10, or preference as a clueless bunch, just accept being told what to do and quietly accept your annual subvention. Football? What’s that!

  30. David Avatar
    David

    @Patrick Raymond

    The issues of football in the region is the FIFA culture which breeds corruption. This is a matter that is well documented.

The blogmaster invites you to join the discussion.

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