CANOC chief questions Caribbean influence in world sport

by Michael Bascombe

KINGSTOWN, Oct. 25, 2026 - Caribbean Association of National Olympic Committees (CANOC) President Keith Joseph has criticised Caribbean sports organisations for failing to convert representation within international federations into meaningful regional influence.

Asked on Saturday’s TalkSports programme with Michael Bascombe whether regional organisations were adapting quickly enough to the increasingly complex demands of international sport, Joseph replied: “No, not by a long shot.”

“We are afraid to talk because perhaps we are afraid to analyse,” he said. “We get the analysis more from our sports journalists, who are criticised for being analytical, than they deserve.”

Joseph argued that some national federations judged their international relationships mainly by the funding, equipment, or other assistance they secured rather than by their contribution to policy and decision-making.

He said Caribbean delegates attending international meetings should study agendas in advance, assess the implications for their countries, and develop shared regional responses.

“What are our Caribbean members of FIFA doing?” Joseph asked. “Are they just waiting for CONCACAF to take a lead for them, or are they themselves individually studying what this means for all of us?”

He said the region should be prepared to present collective proposals reflecting Caribbean needs instead of responding after decisions had already been shaped by larger and more influential blocs.

Joseph also questioned the Caribbean’s influence within the Olympic system. Although National Olympic Committees form a central part of the Olympic Movement, voting at IOC Sessions is conducted by individual IOC members rather than by each recognised national committee.

He said securing a Caribbean representative on an international executive should be treated as the beginning of the work, rather than the final achievement.

“Having one representative on the executive is not an impact,” Joseph said. “It may be that we gain recognition finally, but what do we do with that recognition?”

He called for regional representatives to report more consistently to Caribbean administrators, explain developments at international meetings, and seek guidance before positions are taken.

Joseph said CANOC’s growing engagement with African and Asian Olympic bodies was intended to build cooperation around shared history, expertise, and development needs.

Presidents of the Association of National Olympic Committees of Africa and the Olympic Council of Asia attended CANOC’s recent General Assembly in Curaçao. The organisations have identified coach exchanges, joint training, and shared technical experience as possible areas of cooperation.

Joseph said the Caribbean’s African, Indian, and Chinese heritage should provide a basis for stronger sporting and institutional ties.

“We may be able to understand that we have more in common than differentiates us,” he said.

Joseph was re-elected on October 18 to lead CANOC for the 2026–2030 term. He did not identify individual Caribbean federations or Olympic committees in his criticism.

“We’re not doing enough of that by any stretch of the imagination,” he said.

CANOC, UWI pursue Grenada campus for sport and agriculture

by Michael Bascombe

ST GEORGE’S, Grenada, Oct. 25, 2026 - The Caribbean Association of National Olympic Committees (CANOC) and the University of the West Indies (UWI) are in discussions with the Government of Grenada about a specialised campus that combines agriculture, sports education, and regional high-performance training.

CANOC President Keith Joseph disclosed on Saturday’s TalkSports programme with Michael Bascombe, that the proposal includes academic work in agriculture, with particular attention to cocoa, alongside the education and preparation of high-performance athletes.

The plan also envisages primary and secondary education programmes focused on sport and long-term athlete development.

Joseph said discussions began last year and included meetings with the Grenada Cabinet. He expects the process to continue after the November 5 general election.

“We believe that within the Eastern Caribbean, we have enough expertise, we have enough resources to facilitate the development of a high-performance centre that not only serves the Eastern Caribbean but can extend to servicing the Caribbean,” Joseph said.

The initiative has previously been identified as the Hope Estate Project. CANOC and UWI signed a cooperation agreement in 2023 covering sports education, research, athlete engagement, and the proposed development of a multi-sport high-performance centre in Grenada.

Joseph said Grenada’s sporting history and public support across several disciplines made the country a strong candidate for a regional facility.

While Jamaica and Trinidad and Tobago are more frequently identified with sustained international sporting success, Joseph argued that Grenada had consistently embraced athletes and teams across a broader range of sports.

He cited Sir Kirani James’ recent installation as CANOC’s first Sports Ambassador as an example of the island’s influence beyond its population size.

Joseph said James reflected during the ceremony on his progression from primary and secondary school competitions to the CARIFTA Games, World Championships, and Olympic Games. According to Joseph, the three-time Olympic medallist also spoke about carrying the expectations of Grenada and the wider Caribbean whenever he competed internationally.

The proposed centre, Joseph said, should form part of a broader shift in how Caribbean governments view sport.

“We’re trying to impress upon our respective governments that sport must not be considered an adjunct that you put at the end of a rather long ministerial portfolio,” he said.

Instead, Joseph argued, sport should be treated as “one of the major pillars of economic development and genuine development” across the region.

Joseph was re-elected CANOC president for the 2026–2030 term at the organisation’s 24th General Assembly in Curaçao on October 18.

CANOC chief warns Caribbean sport risks being left behind

by Michael Bascombe

KINGSTOWN, Oct. 25, 2026 - Caribbean Association of National Olympic Committees President Keith Joseph has called for a regional reassessment of the Olympic system, warning that Caribbean sport could be left behind as international governing bodies change their operating models.

Joseph, speaking on Saturday’s TalkSports programme with Michael Bascombe, questioned whether the region’s national federations and Olympic committees were adequately preparing for changes in international sport.

“Personally, I believe that the Olympic model needs change,” Joseph said. “I think it has exhausted its usefulness.”

He said Caribbean Olympic committees should be developing research-based proposals to present to the International Olympic Committee (IOC), where he believes the region is underrepresented.

“What are our Olympic committees doing in order to bring to the table of the International Olympic Committee, where we are already underrepresented, to change the model that we are using?” Joseph asked.

The CANOC president cited FIFA President Gianni Infantino’s public approach to proposed changes in football as an indication of the broader discussions taking place within international federations.

Joseph said Caribbean administrators must continuously examine the region’s role within that changing environment instead of waiting for reforms to be determined by more influential sporting blocs.

“If we don’t do it now as a Caribbean grouping, we will get left behind in much the same way that our governments have gotten left behind in terms of international development strategies and their application to the benefit of our peoples,” he said.

Joseph’s comments came days after he was re-elected to lead CANOC for the 2026–2030 term at the organisation’s 24th General Assembly in Curaçao.

The St Vincent and the Grenadines administrator heads a seven-member executive committee whose stated priorities include regional cooperation, governance, and expanded opportunities for Caribbean athletes and sporting organisations.

BRTA proposes Caribbean coaching drive as federation plan advances

by Michael Bascombe

BRIDGETOWN, Barbados, October 17, 2026 - The Barbados Road Tennis Association (BRTA) has proposed a regional “coach the coaches” programme as the first step towards establishing the island’s indigenous game across the Caribbean.

BRTA President Frederick Blunt told Saturday’s TalkSports programme that training local coaches would provide a more sustainable foundation than relying on occasional demonstrations by visiting Barbadian players.

“You just don’t go and do an exhibition, and then after we leave, road tennis stops,” Blunt said.

He proposed bringing small groups of coaches from territories including Grenada, St Vincent and the Grenadines, and St Lucia to Barbados for approximately two weeks of instruction. They would then return home to introduce the sport in primary and secondary schools and community programmes.

“The first thing is to get our coaches to coach the coaches in the Caribbean islands,” he said. “Once we have that format, then it will grow in those islands as well.”

Blunt said Barbados’ Ministry of Sport was developing a formal coaching-certification programme open to candidates from the Caribbean and farther afield. He gave no date for its introduction.

The initiative would complement the government-led effort to establish an International Road Tennis Federation. Sports Minister Charles Griffith announced in August that the proposed body would be based in Barbados and was targeted for launch before the end of 2026.

Blunt said the BRTA’s immediate responsibility remained domestic development, while the ministry handled the international structure.

“Once the plans for the International Road Tennis Federation are rolled out, that is the genesis to get road tennis into the wider world,” he said.

Blunt identified the CARIFTA level as a possible long-term regional target but said the sport must first become competitive in other territories.

“It wouldn’t make any sense if we had it in CARIFTA where only Barbados is dominating,” he said. “We still want equity and fairness.”

He said the BRTA was prepared to assist interested countries with coaching, equipment information, and guidance on the rules.

BRTA seeks permanent home, school role for road tennis

by Michael Bascombe

BRIDGETOWN, Barbados, October 17, 2026 - The Barbados Road Tennis Association (BRTA) is working with the Ministry of Sport to secure a permanent home for the indigenous game while seeking its inclusion in the national school curriculum, President Frederick Blunt said on Saturday.

Speaking on the TalkSports programme, with host Michael Bascombe, Blunt said Barbados had expanded access to road tennis through community facilities but still lacked a dedicated centre for coaching, regular training, and elite-player development.

“The main thing is for us to actually have our own home, because that is what is lacking,” Blunt said.

He estimated that more than 300 road-tennis courts had been marked across Barbados. Many, however, are on multi-purpose hard courts shared with other sports.

The semi-finals and finals of the Barbados Road Tennis Open are staged at the Garfield Sobers Gymnasium, but Blunt said a permanent base would allow players to practise consistently and work with coaches.

“What we are looking at, working with the Ministry of Sport, is actually having a home for road tennis where people could go and practise in the evenings,” he said.

Blunt did not identify a proposed site, budget, or construction timetable.

The BRTA’s junior programme, now in its sixth year, caters to players from age seven to 21. The National Sports Council also stages a primary-schools competition, while Blunt said discussions were under way with the ministry about introducing a secondary-schools tournament.

“I’d like to see road tennis being taught in the schools, in the curriculum,” he said. “I’d like to see a road tennis court in every single school in Barbados, from primary to secondary.”

Blunt said three clubs had been registered and another three were completing the process, marking a shift from the informal community “camps” traditionally associated with the sport.

He also said female participation remained below the level the BRTA wanted and identified more school programmes and women-only competitions among the proposed responses.