The Dominica Football Association(DFA) kept their promise and recently paid salaries to the national team who are currently training twice daily in preparation for the upcoming world cup qualifiers.
The DFA took a decision to have the team train full time and have players who are employed, stay away from work and receive a salary subsidy from the DFA. Those who were not employed will also receive payments as well. The payments will cover three months while the players are away from work training full time.
According to DFA president Glen Etienne, this is a record breaking decision by his executive and they anticipate better results as the team begins the qualifiers.
“This is a big accomplishment, a big journey for us, very expensive. However, this allows the team to train more vigorously, twice a day instead of once in the evening. I think this will help the performance of the team. It’s a pilot project and we expect good results”, Etienne said.
He added that the Nature Boys has also been involved in assisting schools and communities around the island.
“Apart from their own football training, they are involved in a mentorship program at schools. They have also assisted Dublanc with some work on their community center. So because of this pilot project, the National Team is involved in a lot of things presently.”
The Dominica National Team will face the Dominican Republic on March 24, in the Dominican Republic and Panama on March 28. The DFA opted to play both games in the Dominican Republic because of the challenges presented by COVID-19.
