Footballers to benefit from elite soccer camp

A tremendous opportunity awaits young aspiring Barbadian footballers who are being urged to sign up for the SL Benfica Elite Soccer Training Camp, which will be held on the island for the first time.

Michele Marshall, chief facilitator of the Barbados leg of the Portugal-based SL Benfica camp, believes it is a great opportunity for players to develop their skills.

The camp will run from April 17 to April 23 at the Usain Bolt Sports Complex and caters to people between the ages six and 19. There is a fee of $700, which has to be paid by March 15th.

SL Benfica Youth Academy is world-rated having won soccer global awards in 2015, 2019 and also the UEFA Under-20 international competition.

However, Marshall, along with fellow organisers including co-facilitator Simeon Allsopp and coach liaison Marlon Harte, are encouraging clubs, academies, schools and other entities not to be discouraged by the cost of the camp.

“This is a case of SL Benfica wanting to understand the talent in the Barbados and it is also an opportunity for Barbadians who don’t necessarily have that expenditure to reach other coaches in other parts of the world, bring the expertise here to train and improve under watchful eyes and be guided the right way.

“I don’t want people to think that with that sort of money only rich people could come to that camp, it is not about that at all. The fact is we still have to pay a certain amount of money to pull it off and there are overheads that need to be met, but I staunchly believe that at this post-Covid time there are some entities that would invest $700 or $1400 to sponsor one or two of these kids,” Marshall said.

“Even if you don’t want to be a title sponsor, at least sponsor one individual at $700. This would really change everything in life for this young person and it could really change things for your company as well. Suppose that young person has those special skills and your name is forever linked with SL Benfica.”

Marshall said Barbados was chosen for this camp because SL Benfica recognized the talent on the island.

“So, what they (SL Benfica) are doing is they want to spread their methodology across the world. It is the first time they are spreading it to the Caribbean and Barbados was selected on the strength of our Under-15 and Under-17 teams a couple years ago.

“They also took notice that we facilitated scholarships for a number of youngsters who are currently in the United States and that caught their eyes,” Marshall explained.

She said she hoped that the camp would become an annual event.

Allsopp, who is the general secretary of Whitehall Football Club, also sees the camp as a great opportunity for not just players but also local coaches.

“I believe that the coaches and especially the players could benefit from this where we should see some quality coming out. And if we get Benfica to keep coming every year and parents keep investing in them, we might be able to get a player at the age of 17 going straight into Benfica’s elite camps and from there into the Benfica senior team,” Allsopp said.

“So, I am saying if a coach sees any type of quality out of any of these boys and when I say quality I mean exceptional quality, there is no way that a coach is going to say to hell with that. He is going to get on the phone, call his boss who will want the parents to sign because they are hunting for the next Messi, the next Pele, they are hunting for the next Diego Maradona.”

Meanwhile, Harte said the camp was a platform to assess footballers at a young age.

“My experience as a youth international coach would tell me that yes, we have the ability, but we need to put things in place to ensure we get the most out of the raw talent that lies here on the island,” he said. 

morissalindsay@barbadostoday.bb