Month: January 2024

New Format for Premier League

The communication from the ABFA sent out on the 18th of January, 2024, has alerted the premier division clubs of the new format for the group stage of the associations top league. The decisions comes after the the Tryum Football Club did not take part in the 2023/24 competition.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      

System OF Play APL

  • All Premier and Second Division will be played in the same format except for the First Division. The First Division will be play two rounds of matches. All other competitions’ formats will be determined by the Competitions Committee.
  • In the league play system of the APL, teams will be awarded three (3) points for a victory, One (1) point for a draw and zero (0) points for a loss.
  • In all play-off games, if the score is tied after full time, thirty (30) minutes of extra time (two equal halves of fifteen minutes) will be played. If after extra time that the scores are still tied, penalty kicks will be taken to determine the winners. The Best of Five format will be used followed by sudden death if still tied.
  • In the Premier Division, the four teams finishing the season in positions thirteen (13), fourteen (14), fifteen (15) and  Tryum FC (16 – no participation) will be regulated to the First Division. 

First Round of the APL will be played via League format, based on points accumulated, teams will be rank accordingly 1 through 15 (each team will play a total of 14 games in the 1st round).

The Second Round will be executed via a group stage format based on the top three ranked teams.

Teams will be ceded within the group format (Group A. B. C.), each team will play a total of 4 games in the 2nd round, with all points from the first round will be carried forward to the second round, the team with the most accumulative points wins the APL.

GROUP A

GROUP B

GROUP C

1

2

3

6

5

4

9

8

7

12

11

10

15

14

13

Group A:                Group B:               Group C:            

  1 vs 15.                 2 vs 14.                 3 vs 13.               

  6 vs 12.                 5 vs 11.                 4 vs 10.                 

  9 vs 15.                 8 vs 14.                 7 vs 13.                 

  1 vs 12.                 2 vs 11.                 3 vs 10.                 

  6 vs 15.                5 vs 14.                  4 vs 13.                   

   1 vs 9.                  2 vs 8.                    3 vs 7.

 12 vs 15.              11 vs 14.                10 vs 13.

  9 vs 12.                8 vs 11.                  7 vs 10.

  6 vs 9.                  5 vs 8.                    4 vs 7.

  1 vs 6.                  2 vs 5.                    3 vs 4.                

At the end of this stage, points will be totaled, Antigua Premier League (APL) Winner will be declared.

  • The team finishing in position twelve (12) will enter a round robin play off with teams finishing in positions three (3) and four (4) in the First Division.
  • The winner of this play off will play in the Premier Division in the next season.
  • If the winner is not team the twelve (12) of the Premier Division, then team twelve (12) will also be relegated to the First Division.

The dominance of the champions

The nation’s top flight league kicked off on November 25th 2023, Grenades were poised to start their championship defence after winning the nation’s top prize for the first time in the team’s existence in the 2022/23 season. 

Always a presence in the domestic and international market, they brought back a bulk of the previous squad with a few new faces to fill the void of the ones that parted ways with the club. This also included the backroom staff.

Grenades Coach, Lenny Hewlett

New coach Lenny Hewlett  was appointed after the departure of coaches Donovan Peart and Christopher Harvey near the ending of the previous season.

Since his appointment, the master of his trade are five (5) games unbeaten, 5W 0D 0L,  scoring twenty (20) goals, averaging four (4) goals per game and only conceding three (3) times. Boasting a plus 17 goal difference.

Leading the goal scoring charts for the in-form team is  27 year old Leaus Henville of Saint Lucia with four (4) goals, following him closely are fellow St.Lucians Ridel Stanislas and Sherman Augustin, both on three (3) goals each.

Grenades leading goals scorer Leaus Henville

The team looks menacing on the pitch and are dismantling teams in their way, nothing short of what a defending championship team is suppose to do. The pressure from the fans and non-fans doesn’t look to bother the team as they display brute force whenever they play.

Quinton GriffithThe premier league is surely being used as preparation for the Caribbean Club Championships, where the real pressure awaits in  April of this year.

Grenades’ attack is complimented by the experience of  St. Lucian centre-back Kurt Francis, Benna Boys captain and 2022/23 ABFA premier league Player of the Year, Quinton Griffith and Golden Glove winner 2022/23 Brent Parker.

Brent Parker – Goal keeper

A well oiled team with a clear mission that looks certain but they still have to be wary of the likes of All Saints United, Old Road and Villa Lions, all clapping on the heels of the champions and allowing them no room for error.

You can follow Grenades games right here, fixtures and scores.

ABFA Transfer window is now OPEN

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According to the rules and regulations governing the ABFA leagues for the 2023/24 season, the transfer window, which allows clubs to add to their roster, whether it be domestic or international players, is open as of January 1st 2024 and closes at midnight on January 31st 2024.

The premier league competition, started one the 25th of November 2023, saw the exclusion of Tryum FC from the league. Although still appearing on the fixture, Tryum FC are yet to feature in the top flight this season.

The exclusion of Tryum (PREMIER LEAGUE)and Cedar Grove Blue Jays (FIRST DIVISION), up to this day, remains a mystery, leaving it up to speculations and questions unanswered regarding the teams. The non-participation of both clubs left a host of players without a club to call their home for the season, until now.

The window will allow those players to find clubs and allow “unhappy” players to find “greener pastures” or more frequent playing time. What ever the reason maybe for a move, rest assured that transfers will be made, the office of the FA will be buzzing and teller lines long with persons waiting to pay transfer fees.

Transfers are to be sent via the FIFA Connect system, from club to club, then accompanied by a physical transfer form, signed by the player in question along with a bank receipt of the correct amount for the desired transfer.

NO transfer will or shall be complete without the signed form from the player and bank receipt.