Some three hundred children from schools throughout the island are engaged in a two-week training camp organised and sponsored entirely by the Anguilla Football Association.
At the commencement of the summer camp on Monday, July 14, at the Football Stadium, Colin Johnson outlined the various rules governing the event to the children who wore shirts bearing the logo of the Association.
Mr Johnson is the Association’s Technical Director and the chief organiser of the camp.
The children are divided in the following age categories: 4-6 years; 7-9; 10-11; and 12-plus. The daily camp sessions are 9 am -12 noon with breaks at the weekends.
“Everything is free,” said Mr Johnson. “Free shirts; free instructions; free transportation; and free refreshments – all compliments the Anguilla Football Association. We are giving back to the community, and we are the only sponsor. We appreciate the children and want to include them in our football programmes as much as possible.”
He said the aim of the camp was to expose the youngsters to football, noting that some of them were playing the sport for the first time. “We want to encourage them to play football and we are teaching them all the basic skills of the game,” he added. “However, the focus is not on them learning the skill but having fun and playing football as much as possible.
“We are engaging all the schools; some of the children are in preschool, and even our under-15 national team has been encouraged to come to participate in the camp and to get extra practice.”
