Saint Vincent and the Grenadines: Who Be Ye?

December 21st, 2007 | by: Sam | Comments(7)

Four years ago when Canada found out their opponent in the first round of FIFA World Cup Qualifying would be Belize, a hearty laugh was shared by all. The tiniest country in Central America, we thought. Never achieved anything within any tournament, more or less. Ha, we thought. And we were right. On 13 June 2004 at Richardson stadium in Kingston, Ontario, in front of 8245 supporters, the home crew did away of the challenge thanks to goals from Peschisolido, Radzinski, McKenna and Brennan. Ditto the score on the return leg in Belize City, score achieved thanks to the fleet feet of Radzinski and Brennan, as well as a brace from Dwayne De Rosario.

Three and a half years later, Canada knows its opponent for the very same first round, and at first glance, they may seem just as feeble and vulnerable as our last bucket of whipping boys. However, that’s only because most people knoweth not the slightest thing about Vincentian football. Yours truly included. Therefore, it is my duty to give you the skinny on St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Canada’s first obstacle on the road to the World Cup.

The country: SV&G is split into two parts. Saint Vincent, the main, northernmost island which is nestled right under Saint Lucia, where one can find Kingstown, the capital city; and the Grenadines, a cluster of over 600 islands, just north of Grenada. The population of the country in 2005 was of a 119 000 people (that’s one Vincentian for every 2714 Canadians). Economy-wise, it’s nothing to be jealous about, with a staggering 22% unemployment rate, despite the booming banana market that the people have been running before your grandparents were born. Quick fact: The Pirates of the Carribean trilogy was shot in part in SV&G, helping boost tourist numbers.

The FA: Again, the bureaucratic sketchiness of the country reflect upon its governing football body. The Saint Vincent and Grenadines Football Association first took flight in 1979, and joined FIFA in 1988. There’s an ad on their official website for those who want to apply for a head coach position.

The players: While before I browsed SV&G’s national team roster, I could not have been able to name a player to save my life, I knew there were chances of there being the odd professional player somewhere in the mix. I was right. Columbus Crew’s hot-and-cold defender Ezra Hendrickson is undoubtedly the player to watch on this little squad. Some other names to know are Shandel Samuel, their most prolific goal-scorer ever with sixteen goals, who makes his trade at San Juan Jabloteh, a power in the Trinidadian League. Other players can be found playing in Portugal, Malaysia and the Republic of Ireland. There’s a handful of others who play for domestic clubs, such as System 3, High Times FC and Pastures United. A full list can be found here.

Their World Cup experience: Competing in the competition for the first time with USA 94 up ahead, things were rosy at first. They finished second in their preliminary four-team pool, advancing to the second round in a group with Mexico, Honduras and Costa Rica. Needless to say, not much was done Vincentian-wise, and the Vincy Heat went home with six crisp losses in hand and nary a goal to boast about.

Their France 98 mission also got off to a very encouraging start, read a 9-1 aggregate win over Puerto Rico. But once again, in the company of Mexico, Jamaica and Honduras, the boys could not muster a single point in six matches, but did score six goals, three of which came in their penultimate match against Honduras (final score 11-3).

Third time’s the charm, right? Korea Japan 2002’s qualifying saw the Heat dispose of the British Virgin Islands, 14-1 on aggregate. In the second Carribean round (it’s like they changed the format every fricking time), the task was tougher but the end result the same, with St. Kitts and Nevis being the next victims, 3-1 over the two matches. But wait: We’re not done. A third Carribean round saw SV&G advance to the next one thanks to a come from behind 5-2 aggregate score. In the fateful group containing Honduras, Jamaica and El Salvador, the Vincentians made it eighteen losses out of eighteen, with a swift six losses, with two goals to their name.

In the last edition, the Heat’s first hurdle was Nicaragua, who contrary to what one may think, suck. The green and yellow advanced, 6-3 on aggregate, where straight away they were pitted against Mexico (yet again), future finalists Trinidad & Tobago, as well as St. Kitts and Nevis. In a fairly straightforward final table, SV&G finished third, with two wins (1-0; 0-3) over the bottom-feeders, St. Kitts and Nevis.

Basically, that’s Vincentian football for dummies. Of course, Canada is the better team, but we’ve got to be wary of one of the best Carribean outfits, who’ve always gotten through to the group stages of CONCACAF’s WC qualifying. I’ll be dissecting them further as 14 June approaches.

On a personal note, I’ll be leaving for Winnipeg tomorrow morning to spend Crissmass with my relatives, so I won’t be posting anything for a week or so. Be nice to Kyle and you guys have yourself a good time this week.

While you’re at it, check out Kyle’s view of things here.

The starting eleven of Saint Vincent’s side who faced Mexico at home on 10 October 2004.