On the field or off the field, on the sidelines, in the classroom or in the stands, locally, regionally or internationally over the past 20 years, Renaldo Gilkes lives, sleeps, eats, breathes football, or so you may think.
Here’s a look Inside the Sport – Football, with this Jack of all trades and master of none.
A familiar proverb I heard while growing up as a boy, while unknowing that I would’ve been Jack.
I find myself in a unique position, wearing many hats in the business of football.
I’m predominantly known for my coaching role; however, I have the distinctive pleasure of being a club manager, technical director, coach educator, analyst, and journalist, therefore affecting technical development, coach education, sport administration and communications, some of the core areas of the game.
I won’t profess to be exactly an expert in any of the above-mentioned, for I am still pursuing the top qualification in the coaching profession, I am involved in informal and formal education to improve my administration abilities, while sharpening my skills through mentorship and reflection to be a better analyst and journalist.
An open mind, coupled with clear objectives and a destination have been my best companions on this journey which I started 21 years ago. A voyage which has brought an array of knowledge, values and significant relationships, and subsequent success in each of the areas I mentioned before, where I’ve featured.
Over two decades, I’ve observed, researched, and had thousands of conversations with stakeholders and genuine football lovers, and I have identified a number of findings, some of which have been consistent and others which have evolved over time; elements which have benefited football and others which have stagnated its growth.
My discoveries
When I compiled everything, I discovered that the environment needs to be fixed, and subsequent improvements will follow.
It is a relatively easy task but possesses its challenges like any other revolutionary activity.
The greatest resource in this element of change is the people.
People make up the environment. Decisions are made for the people by the people, and therefore must be acknowledged and more importantly appreciated.
Recently, during my weekly reading I came across an article which spoke about Singapore’s rise on the global scale, and it has been attributed to a national formula, known as MPH- Meritocracy Pragmatism Honesty.
This formula was shared by China’s leader Deng Xiopang to his then counterpart from Singapore Lee Kuan Yew, and this information led Singapore from the barrels of a third world nation to the first world with a thriving economy and high living standards, despite limited natural resources.
What makes this relevant to our football environment, you may ask?
Well Meritocracy means individuals are selected for tasks based on their abilities and achievements and not social position or connections. The best person for the job is always identified and utilized in their place of specialty.
This engineers intrinsic motivation and encourages people to pursue improvement through education (not to be mistaken with academics), if they want to contribute to the sport in a meaningful way, particularly in the decision-making process.
For instance, you won’t necessarily hire an excellent player to be a coach, simply because of his playing abilities, because being a coach is a totally different dynamic, where you’re now the teacher and not the student.
Therefore, it is absolutely important that the Executive Board of the football association, the decision makers, to identify the correct persons to fulfill key roles in the core areas of the institution, such as finance, technical, communication and marketing.
Pragmatism is my favourite. This refers to making decisions and creating policies based on practical considerations, rather than personal ideas or political beliefs.
There is greater consideration for fact more than what things should or could be.
Therefore, we must identify the facts, positive and negative, and create policies so that we improve incrementally, for we cannot change all things overnight.
Again, people who understand this and possess an open mind are needed for this exercise as it requires collaboration, smart objectives, along with a clear and shared vision.
What is fact?
The Barbados senior men’s football team is ranked 178th in the world out of 211 FIFA recognized nations, while our ladies are just 21 places from the bottom in their category, at 161st.
Since 2012, our highest FIFA ranking has been 130th, in 2015 under the guidance of coach Colin “Heavy Foot” Harewood.
We are currently at our worst ranking, however, the signs have been emerging for a while as we have floated consistently between 160th and 170th, during the tenure of 2017 to 2023, where we secured the lucrative services of international coaches Ahmed Mohamed, Russell Latapy and Orlando da Costa.
So, while pragmatism aims to identify the problems and apply logic to fix them based on the principle of realism and what works. In our case, the same formula was applied by those in charge, and obviously the same result has reoccurred (many times).
Facts are those things which cannot be disputed, and we can not argue that our neighbours have surpassed us in their football development, across all sectors, coach education, officiating, technical development, just to name a few.
Grenada made their Concacaf Gold Cup debut in 2021.
We are yet to make a major tournament while countries such as St Kitts, whose football association was established 22 years after the Barbados Football Association and Grenada 14 years after Barbados’ 1910 “birth”, have both made the Concacaf Gold Cup, the premier competition in our confederation.
Credit to our regional neighbors for their success, and I am sure there are no secrets to their achievements, for as the adage goes, “there are no secrets in football”.
Assumably, they set out a common national objective, recognized what works for them and identified the ideal and competent personnel to facilitate the necessary tasks.
Also known as a pragmatic method.
The final piece of the MPH formula; honesty is straightforward. Or is it?
A transparent environment, with clear and meaningful communication lends to healthy relationships and one where there is support and encouragement from the people, subsequently provoking empowerment, the fuel of any institution.
Members, supporters, employees often give more when they are a part of the process.
With honesty also comes strict rules and consequences for dishonest practices.
The rules and in football’s case, the constitution is the law which governs each decision and behaviors of all officers and members of the football association and football community by extension.
Therefore, what applies to one person must be applicable to the other.
However, cronyism has seemingly found residence inside the halls of our football quarters, particularly due to members of the hierarchy intimate relationship with their clubs, or friends associated with a club.
In a society as close-knit as ours, one may find it difficult to mitigate these close relationships, and some may even find it harder to separate personal from professional, but whatever decisions are made, or words are shared the integrity of the game must be at the front of the line.
Because the size of our community, also means that the truth is easy to find out, it also means it is easy to attach accountability, yet instances such as Barbados 2015 disqualification from the 2018 FIFA World Cup Qualifier, the 2018 disqualification in the Concacaf Nations League, the failed international Friendly matches versus St Vincent & the Grenadines in Barbados and Honduras in the United States, have all been swept aside.
Honesty breeds transparency of which can only promote trust and support from members, while omission or silence can produce quite the opposite, doubt, mistrust, and a lack of interest.
When MPH was first applied to Singapore, the Southeast Asian nation was able to transform from an emerging, third-world country to one of the wealthiest with a high standard of living and socio-economic stability.
This formula, like any made in a scientific laboratory will require suitable personnel and know-how if it is to effective.
Background
Renaldo Gilkes is a former national footballer and team captain, who is now a sports administrator, journalist, coach and coach educator with over two decades of knowledge and experience.
