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Soca Warriors Online (SWO) recently caught up with newly formed West Indies Football Association (WIFA) Manager and Scottish-born James Baird, as the former Tobago United player gave us a little insight on the future plans for WIFA.

 James, 30, is a former goalkeeper for folded TTProleague club Tobago United and has also played for Hearts, Hibernian, Livingston FC, Alloa and Stenhousemuir FC. He had stints with the Scottish Under 16 and Under 17 teams.

He also trained with local outfit Superstar Rangers and with the British Virgin Islands national football team and even played for their under 23's in a small local tournament, but, after eligibility problems, decided against representing the senior side.

James is the Technical Director and goalkeeper for the West Indies Football Association (WIFA). He owns and runs his own football team and academy called Trinidad and Tobago Highlanders.

James has lived in T&T for quite some time and has developed an affinity for the country and the Caribbean.  So much so, that he is now trying to make a significant contribution to players throughout the region. His immediate goal is to get the WIFA to participate in the 6th VIVA World Cup which is scheduled to kick off later this year. Should he be successful, the West Indies will be participating for the very first time.

James said, "The VIVA World Cup is an umbrella association for teams unaffiliated with FIFA, planned to be held every two years.  WIFA (The Waves) are a member of the N.F. Board - the association for non FIFA countries which is based in Narbonne, France. The purpose is to promote the Caribbean and West Indies.  There was no representative on the non-FIFA scene, so I was asked if I would take on the challenge and I accepted."

"The N.F.-Board was formed in 2003 and is responsible for hosting the VIVA World Cup which was founded in 2006. The biggest VIVA World Cup tournament was hosted in 2012 in Kurdistan. A record nine teams featured with the hosts defeating Northern Cyprus 2-1 in the final in front of 22,000 fans. The 2012 VIVA was considered the most successful and competitive finals since the tournament began."

He continued, "We have a few scouts worldwide, from Scandinavia to the UK and the United States, and have a UK-based Futsal team which also helps our UK-based players keep fit and get together when we don't have matches." 

"I have a full coaching staff which I will publish before the 2014 VIVA World Cup and we have a player pool so far reaching around 150 from all over the world." 

"Currently we are in negotiations with a few people about a ground as we want our own ground as we will have a local squad training full time and hopefully playing in a local competition."

"WIFA is strictly Caribbean or Caribbean parentage, although we have a rule that anyone who lives in the Caribbean continuously for a period of time will also qualify to play in international games for our team."

"However, initially, players will not get paid but will get many perks, but we will be working towards that within the not too distant future. We have a few international sponsors but are on the look out for more local and regional sponsors, so things will change for the better once we become more recognized, then our brand will sell and players will benefit."

When asked why he didn't just try to revive Tobago United and bring them back into the Pro League instead of coming out with a WI team that is not consistently active, especially since Tobago is dying for a Pro League team, James added: "I did consider the Tobago idea, but the WIFA project is a lot larger, and a worldwide project.  I also realized that the hurdle of local sponsorship and traveling will always be a problem for a Tobago team. I am not ruling out moving the WIFA project to Tobago though, but I would have to speak to the Tobago House of Assembly (THA)."

"At present we are happy where we are based in Trinidad and Tobago, but, as we are a West Indies team, we could move to any of the islands, especially if offered a home ground”, ended James.

There have been many attempts to put a West Indies football team together, but they failed in the majority.  Although there was the British Caribbean Football Association established in 1957, and they played various matches as the select team from the Caribbean, mostly against English opposition.

The West Indies FA will use Caribbean players from all over the world who have not played with their national teams and give them the opportunity to represent the West Indies and experience international football.



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