NEW YORK, October 18, 2025 - President of the Caribbean Association of National Olympic Committees (CANOC), Keith Joseph, has renewed his call for a united, region-wide approach to sport development, arguing that Caribbean nations must stop working in isolation if they are to realise sport’s full social and economic potential.
Speaking on the weekly TalkSports programme on Saturday, Joseph reflected on some of the outcomes of CANOC’s Workshop and General Assembly being held in Georgetown, Guyana, where leaders discussed strategies to strengthen cooperation among National Olympic Committees (NOCs), Commonwealth Games Associations, and governments.
“That is why our theme this year is Authentic Caribbean,” Joseph said. “We believe it’s critical that we stop functioning independently and instead embrace a collective regional approach to sport development.”
Joseph commended the remarks made by Guyana’s Minister of Sport, Charles Ramson, who urged delegates to pursue shared solutions rather than isolated national initiatives.
“He said Guyana is building a number of facilities, yes, but we want this for the region,” Joseph explained. “That appeal resonated with every NOC and Commonwealth Games Association present. Everyone left with the message that we must think and act as one Caribbean when it comes to sport.”
Among the key topics discussed at the CANOC meetings was the idea of a Caribbean-African alliance, a concept Joseph has championed for years. With CARICOM deepening diplomatic and trade relations with Africa, he believes sport should be part of that agenda, along with stronger links to India, whose people, along with Africans, constitute much of the region’s population.
“When COVID came, the first vaccines we received were from South Africa and India,” he noted. “Those two regions represent the majority of our population base. Why not use sport to forge a triangular alliance between the Caribbean, Africa, and India? It could even help reduce ethnic tensions in places like Trinidad and Tobago and Guyana that have persisted for decades.”
Joseph said Caribbean societies must also move away from the outdated belief that a career in sport is less valuable than one in traditional academic fields.
“We often believe that if you get involved in sport, something is wrong with you — that you should have become a doctor, lawyer, or engineer,” he said. “But we need those professionals and we need people who understand sport’s role in nation-building.”
To that end, Joseph revealed ongoing discussions between CANOC, the University of the West Indies, and Grenada to establish a comprehensive high-performance training centre for the Caribbean. The facility would integrate athletics and sports science with academic, environmental, and agricultural programmes.
“We are exploring the possibility of creating a regional high-performance centre in Grenada — one that also has a strong academic base in an eco-tourism and agricultural environment,” he said. “This could redefine how we position sport — not as recreation, but as a critical vehicle for national and regional development.”
Joseph concluded that true progress in Caribbean sport requires both vision and unity.
“We have the talent, we have the passion, and we have the cultural foundation,” he said. “What we now need is a shared purpose — to build the Authentic Caribbean through sport.”
No comments:
Post a Comment