Soccer in Saba

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Soccer (or association football) is a popular sport on the Caribbean island of Saba. Sports on the island are controlled by the Saba United Sports Federation and the Commission of Social Affairs, Culture and Sports.[1][2]

Facilities[]

The Cruyff Court Saba in The Bottom is the only soccer facility on the island. The artificial turf stadium was opened in April 2011.[3]

Youth soccer[]

In 1999 local resident Lynne Johnson began organizing soccer lessons for young boys at the Man-O-War Ground (now the Cruyff Court Saba).[4] There are youth soccer activities for males and females on the island.[5] In May 2019 new Sports Facilitator of Saba Joelyn Robinson stated a desire to revive youth sports, including soccer.[2]

School teams[]

The Saba University School of Medicine has student-run intramural soccer activity.[6] The Saba Comprehensive School has also been instrumental in organizing notable soccer programs,[7] including an international tournament hosted by Saba in May to June 2019.[1]

League[]

Unlike the other islands of the Dutch Caribbean, no organized senior soccer league has ever been played on Saba.[8] An inter-island competition was staged between Saba and Sint Eustatius from 2004 to 2006, but was then dissolved.[9] In July 2021 Saba signed a memorandum of understanding with Sint Eustatius to, "undertake joint initiatives such as enhancing the sports structure and related activities, organizing regional sporting tournaments and competitions...". However, soccer was not specifically mentioned.[10]

National team[]

Formerly Saba was represented in international football by the Netherlands Antilles national football team until the country was dissolved on 10 October 2010 and Saba became a separate Special Municipality.[11] Since that time there has been limited activity by a distinct Saba national soccer team,[12][13] other than a series of matches against the Sint Eustatius national football team which were played until at least 2011.[14]

The girls' team of the Saba Comprehensive School competed against an Anguilla selection in a tournament at home in summer 2019.[1] The Saba team also defeated a Sint Maarten selection to win the championship. The top male scorer in the tournament was [15] who is a Sint Maarten youth international.[16]

References[]

  1. ^ a b c "Saba Set to Host Sports Competition". saba-news.com. 9 April 2019. Retrieved 16 August 2021.
  2. ^ a b "New Sports Facilitator Robinson aims to revive sports". saba-news.com. 19 March 2019. Retrieved 16 August 2021.
  3. ^ "The Bottom". Beautiful Saba. Retrieved 16 August 2021.
  4. ^ "Two Saba Sports Fields Upgraded". saba-news.com. 23 February 2021. Retrieved 16 August 2021.
  5. ^ "Child Focus concludes summer camp in Saba". The Daily Herald. Retrieved 16 August 2021.
  6. ^ "Saba University School of Medicine 2020-2022 Catalog" (PDF). Saba University School of Medicine. Retrieved 16 August 2021.
  7. ^ "Saba offers its children lots of activities after school". saba-news.com. 25 March 2021. Retrieved 16 August 2021.
  8. ^ Schöggl, Hans; Stokkermans, Karel; Veroeveren, Piet. "Dutch Antilles - List of Champions". RSSSF. Retrieved 16 August 2021.
  9. ^ Menary, Steve (18 June 2020). "The History of Football in the Dutch Caribbean: The Modern Era". Outside Write. Retrieved 16 August 2021.
  10. ^ "Saba and Statia join hands in strengthening sports". saba-news.com. 28 July 2021. Retrieved 16 August 2021.
  11. ^ "Antillen opgeheven op 10-10-2010" (in Dutch). NOS. 1 October 2009. Retrieved 1 October 2009.
  12. ^ "NFT profile". National Football Teams. Retrieved 16 August 2021.
  13. ^ "THE RISE OF FOOTBALL IN CURAÇAO AND THE INFLUENCE OF PATRICK KLUIVERT". These Football Times. 19 August 2017. Retrieved 16 August 2021.
  14. ^ Schöggl, Hans. "Inter Island Matches Saba/Sint Eustatius". RSSSF. Retrieved 16 August 2021.
  15. ^ "OVER 100 STUDENTS PARTCIPATED [sic] IN THE INTER-ISLAND-SPORTS COMPETITION 2019". saba-news.com. 4 June 2019. Retrieved 16 August 2021.
  16. ^ "U 15 soccer tourney kicks off Saturday". The Daily Herald. Retrieved 16 August 2021.
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