Hall happy with pro contracts, eyes improvement in team results

Ahead of this weekend’s start of the local football season, head coach of the men’s senior national team Kent Hall, has identified continuous improvement in that team’s performances as his main focus for 2026.

Speaking at the Barbados Football Association’s (BFA) Technical Centre in Wildey, Hall conceded that while the national team’s results were not as good as he would have liked in 2025, he said a lot of learning and development took place.

“I think it was still a good opportunity for me and my team to have a deeper look at the talent on island and give them an opportunity also to see what the international football level is like. It gave us an opportunity to gauge where we are and to set a realistic path for where we need to get to.

“So we know we’ve got a lot of work still to do. We’re firmly focused on September; we do have matches in March, but we know that League B is the target. We have to be better than we were last year for sure,” Hall said.

“The objective is to survive, to play good football. But ultimately to survive, we have to be able to be consistent at that level and then see how we can grow from there.”

With national captain Andre Applewhaite headlining several players with international caps signing new professional contracts this season, Hall says 2026 will be a challenging year for all the right reasons.

“I’m absolutely thrilled for the boys that got contracts. I think it’s not just good for the national team, although it presents me with the challenge of now having more overseas-based players and a budget that has limitations,” he explained.

“I always remember coming up, every kid has that dream, right? They want to be a pro, but when you look around and you don’t see anyone who you can relate to that has achieved it, so it feels just like a dream. I’ve seen many talented players give up on it, but I’m thrilled for these guys, and I really value what they’re doing for local football, because it means now that those dreams are feeling more and more real for the kids that are playing right now.

“I’m not a big social media person, but when I go online and I see the level of engagement that comes from it, I know that we are heading in a really positive direction. At the same time, obviously with the Premier League starting, my eyes will be on the performances here and seeing who’s wanting to follow in their footsteps, who’s ready to make the level of commitment that goes with it,” Hall added.

With the start of the Premier League just two days away, BFA president Randy Harris has confirmed that $50, 000 will once again be up for grabs for the winners of this year’s competition. 

The season is set to be a slightly more compact domestic campaign, due to FIFA requirements for the World Cup Finals, which are set to be staged in the USA, Canada and Mexico, but according to Harris, this will not affect the usual format of the competitions.

“We will have the knockout competition as usual, but the thing is that with the league, we have to have it completed before May 31. That is the deadline for entry into the club championship, so we have to ensure that we are able to compete by that time. 

“Also as you know, the World Cup is starting in the middle of June and FIFA wants that to be the focus, so they’re hoping that all leagues will be completed before the start of the World Cup,” Harris explained.

“That’s not much different from last year though, and we were able to complete the season and Wales were able to represent Barbados.”

Multi-time defending league and knockout champions Weymouth Wales, will begin their title defense against newly promoted Bagatelle in the opening game of the season, which kicks off at the Wildey Technical Centre on Sunday at 4 p.m., Paradise tackle UWI Blackbirds at 6 p.m, while Brittons Hill oppose Kickstart Rush in the nightcap game at 8 p.m.