As football in the Islands grew,
so came the incremental changes for the modernization
of the sport. In May 1992, CIFA became a member of
CONCACAF, the regional governing body for football
and in July of that same year we became a member of
FIFA, the international federation for the sport.
In 1992, for the first time, the
Cayman Islands had a Minister of Sports, and in 1993
the incumbent for the portfolio the Honorable McKeeva
Bush appointed a National Sports Committee, headed
by current CIFA President Jeffrey Webb.
The Cayman Islands football program
had its first paid coach in 1988 with the appointment
of Winston Chung of Jamaica as Technical Director.
The success of the football program in 1994 also led
to further support from Government and in 1995 a full-time,
salaried technical director, German national Bernard
Schumm, was appointed. This support continues today
with National Technical Director Marcio Maximo, a
Brazilian.
In 1996 the association initiated
the Women’s League, which today has four teams.
In addition to the Women’s League, CIFA today
presides over the Primary Schools League; the Under
14 League (8 teams); the Foster’s Group League,
Division One (8 teams) and Division Two (6 teams):
National teams – Under 17 and Senior.
CIFA achieved another milestone
this year, when between May 27 and June 4, it hosted
its first Youth Football Week, which brought international
players of the caliber of Coventry City’s John
Eustace to the Islands, along with scouts and FIFA
agents from Europe. Football clinics and school visits,
along with the FA Cup Finals were the highlights of
the week.
Out of this, the Under 17 National
team’s midfielder and Rookie of the Year for
the 2000/2001 season Leon Whittaker has gained a spot
for try out with English second division team, Reading.
Two other players, Carson Fagan, a teammate of Whittaker
and Tuda Murphy will also have try-outs in Europe.
Despite the continuing growth of
football over the years, the association managed to
function with a fully established office, and it was
not until 1999, that its first office was set up in
rented premises in George Town.
Earlier this year, the office was
relocated to the Truman Bodden Sports Complex; the
office now has a full-time administrator and marketing
coordinator. This appointment underscores CIFA’s
goal to increase and improve its efforts at marketing
itself and the game, thereby generating greater public
support and attracting sponsors.
