Oniqueky Samuels, Showcase Coordinator and Special Advisor
It is every young footballer's dream to play on the global stage, but first they would require the necessary platform to parade their skills with hopes of being recognized by astute overseas-based coaches.
Such is the case for some of the Caribbean's top young players, who are provided an opportunity to take their talents beyond the shores and, by extension, bring their dreams of making it big on the global stage within reach, courtesy of the Caribbean Premier Showcase.
The Caribbean Premier Showcase, conceptualized by Jamaican-born Oniqueky Samuels in 2014, was meant to be a mere recruitment drive for universities and colleges in the United States, but has since blossomed into a developmental workshop.
The event is designed to test the mettle and skills of players from across the region under the watchful eyes of over 30 coaches from universities, colleges, clubs and academies across the world.
Having made stops in Trinidad and Tobago and Grenada over the years, Samuels, the Men’s Head coach and International Advisor at the University of Maine, Fort Kent, has opted to bring the showcase back to Jamaica, with action scheduled for Friday and Saturday starting at 9:00am.
St Elizabeth Technical High School (STETHS) Sports Complex in Santa Cruz will be the first stop, before Samuels and team cap things off at the UWI-JFF Captain Horace Burrell Centre of Excellence in Kingston.
The showcase involves a number of games in the morning from which coaches will select the various players they want to see advance. In the afternoon, an All-scholastic team, selected by ISSA, will square off against an All-star team selected by the coaches. Following those engagements, the All-manning and All-daCosta Cup teams will lock horns against the All-star teams selected by the coaches.
After leaving Jamaica the Showcase will head to Trinidad and Tobago, Grenada and St Vincent and the Grenadines.
Samuels pointed out that his inspiration to launch such an initiative stemmed from his own journey, as he was awarded a scholarship to the University of Maine, Fort Kent in 2007, and has made full use of the opportunity.
The soft-spoken Samuels completed two degrees at Maine, Fort Kent, and later transitioned to Union College where he started his coaching career. After spending two seasons at Union as a graduate assistant, he was hired by Maine, Fort Kent as an academic advisor and assistant coach, before taking the reins as of his current position in 2018.
“I'm excited about how everything is manifesting. It started as just an itch to give back to young Jamaicans as soon as I got an opportunity coaching. So, I wanted to recruit you know personnel from similar background as mine and it has transitioned into this that you're seeing now,” Samuels, who is also the founder of the Samuels Soccer Foundation, shared.
“It is so satisfying, a lot of persons are hopping on board and making this an official event. That's the main objective, to make this an official annual event that can give young Caribbean players an opportunity to excel, whether you know excel in football or excel in academics because at the end of the day it started by just you know offering scholarships to universities and colleges,” he added.
According to Samuels, another key component to the Showcase is the fact that it also prepares the successful recruits mentally for their transition into a new environment.
“It helps with the want-to-do-well mindset because you want to make better for your family. So, at the end of the day, you have me that have gone through with you have Rajay [Maragh] that has gone through it, many of the personnel who are assisting and volunteering for this showcase, have gone through it. We also offer that connection and relationship with the coaches as well, so if there are issues or any kind of conversation that needs to be had, you know we're going to have those conversations. So, we kind of maintain somewhat of a relationship as a kid gets an opportunity. They're not just thrown out into wherever they land and just expected to do well,” he explained.
That said, Rajay Maragh, the Showcase’s chief operating officer, argued that it would be remiss if they didn’t stress the need to balance academics and the athletics to allow for greater success. This, he said is often an issue as some student-athletes forget that they are students first.
“That is one of the challenges we had last year too. So, we had a player who did well at the showcase, the coach is interested. We go into the system, and we pull up his profile, but the grades are not matching. These days, Colleges are not necessarily giving full scholarship like that. They'll give you an academic scholarship, and an athletic scholarship and together that would make it a full scholarship. So, you may have a coach that offers a player 60% in sports scholarship, which means the other 40 needs to come from your academic progress,” Maragh revealed.
On that note, President and founder of Value FC Emelio Williams gave insight into what the coaches will be looking for.
"Whether you play top tier college football or professional football, one of the first things is just character. You know your academics well. I'm a supporter of schools because we run two professional teams in Europe and you're a brand. The club is a brand, the team is a brand, each player is a brand. You might score 30 goals for the season, but if your actions bring the club in disrepute, it's all for nought. So, character and all the things that come with just the discipline, the commitment, the drive, being a good teammate, hard work. Those things are massively important to any college coach and to any professional organization. I would say character and then obviously your football and talents or your academic, your athletic talents are massively important," he said.
Sherdon Cowan is a five-time award-winning journalist with 10 years' experience covering sports.
Dewsbury-Hall: Maresca will surprise people at Chelsea
Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall believes new Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca will "surprise a lot of people" when they watch the Blues this season.
The Italian led Leicester City straight back to the Premier League as Championship winners in his only season in charge and succeeds Mauricio Pochettino at Stamford Bridge.
The Foxes topped the second division table with 98 points, with Dewsbury-Hall a key figure in his squad as he netted 12 goals and provided 14 assists last season – his best tally in a single campaign.
Dewsbury-Hall was also named Leicester's Player and Players' Player of the Year.
The midfielder made the switch to West London earlier this month for £30million and is confident that Maresca will have Chelsea challenging for trophies in no time.
"The manager was a big catalyst in wanting me to come," Dewsbury-Hall told BBC Sport.
"I knew from Leicester, a club that went down and had a lot of problems, how he managed to galvanise that if everyone manages to buy into the system.
"I genuinely think in a short space of time we can be pushing for minimum top four - but more than that.
"He may be unknown for a lot of people, but he is top, top level. He will surprise a lot of people."
Chelsea's pre-season got off to a frustrating start as they were held to a 2-2 draw by League One side Wrexham in Maresca's first game in charge on Wednesday.
Dewsbury-Hall did not play in that match but is training with the squad in the United States and could feature in their next outing against Celtic on Saturday.
The 25-year-old is confident the manager's tactics will come across soon, with the players buying into his style.
"We've only been doing it for two or three weeks, but the combination plays are really quick and tidy," he added.
"That's after two weeks. I remember he said to us at Leicester after six months or a year, there might be teething problems at the start, but it will improve.
"Within the first week at Leicester, I was convinced this was top, top level. I felt a bit stupid; I thought I knew a lot about football, but he was teaching me things on a daily basis that I didn't really know before. He has an aura, he can be strict, or gentle and soft - he has both sides.
"I am getting the same feedback here with the lads. They've bought into it here from minute one which is exciting. With a system and philosophy, you need everyone to buy in because, if they do, you can really achieve something."
Ederson slams reports of rift with Man City backup Ortega
Ederson has hit out at reports of a rift between himself and fellow Manchester City goalkeeper Stefan Ortega.
The Brazilian was substituted after suffering a fractured eye socket in City's penultimate game of the Premier League season, a vital 1-0 win over Tottenham.
Ortega replaced him and made a brilliant save to deny Son Heung-min as City maintained their slender lead over Arsenal at the top of the table, sealing an unprecedented fourth straight title by beating West Ham five days later.
Ortega was widely lauded for his role in that triumph, and an article published by The Athletic this week suggested Ederson took issue with that praise.
However, the goalkeeper – who missed the Copa America as a result of his injury – has now moved to shut down those suggestions with a post to his Instagram story.
"I would like to clarify that the note published by The Athletic yesterday, referring to my alleged dissatisfaction with a co-worker, is completely false," he wrote.
"The alleged day reported was, without a doubt, one of the most difficult days of my career, when I suffered a fracture that prevented me from playing in the final stretch of the season and, consequently, from representing my country in the Copa America.
"At the time of the injury, my only thought was to continue in the match, defending City in the fight for the title.
"But the emotion of the match would be greater than the reality and, inevitably, I would not be able to continue as I would have liked due to the damage it caused, completely blocking my field of vision. I remain focused on preparing for the season."
Ederson has been linked with a transfer in recent days, reportedly attracting interest from Saudi Pro League clubs.
Slot's Liverpool success will be measured by trophies, says McAllister
Gary McAllister says Arne Slot must be prepared to aim high by targeting trophies if he is to be successful with Liverpool.
The Dutchman is set to begin his first season in charge of the Reds after being appointed as Jurgen Klopp's successor in May.
Liverpool enjoyed a trophy-laden spell under the German, winning their first-ever Premier League title, as well as a Champions League, a Club World Cup, a Super Cup, an FA Cup and two EFL Cups.
However, Slot was no stranger to success while at Feyenoord, leading the team to the Eredivisie title in 2022-23 before lifting the KNVB Cup in April during his final season with the club.
McAllister, who won five trophies in the two years he spent at Liverpool, says Slot's success will be determined by the silverware he collects.
"Liverpool is a club that's synonymous with winning, and when you don't win you fail," McAllister told Stats Perform.
"When there's a new management team, you're given a little bit more time, but the facts are Liverpool's target, I felt, and as a player that played against them for most of his career, the targets that Liverpool set, you go into every tournament looking to win it.
"You try to win every game and that's the expectation of the club and that's what makes it a very special club."
Klopp spent nine years at Liverpool, breaking club records as his team pushed for trophies on a regular basis.
The Reds enjoyed a club-record 68-match unbeaten run at Anfield over nearly four years in the Premier League between April 2017 and January 2021.
Klopp also oversaw three of the four most prolific seasons in Liverpool's history, including the club-record total of 147 goals scored in 2021-22.
Slot has admitted he has "big shoes to fill", but McAllister believes the 45-year-old will be able to live up to the high expectations left behind by Klopp.
"Arne arriving at the club, following Klopp, realising that it's such a difficult job anyway, but to follow somebody who's done particularly well at the club over an eight, nine-year period is going to be tough, and I don't think the new manager is under any illusions," he added.
"What I would say is he's a man that seems to be a very strong character, good personality, and he's just got to come in and be his own man and trust what he does.
"He's done very well in his previous managerial career and coming to Liverpool I feel is a natural progression in the levels of the game that he's worked at.
"So, everybody at the club will be deeply backing him and be right behind him, he'll have amazing support."
Liverpool's first pre-season game under Slot ended in a 1-0 defeat to Preston North End last week before the players flew out to the United States for a three-game tour.
They are also only one of two Premier League clubs yet to conduct any business in the transfer window so far, but McAllister urged fans to be patient with Slot while he gets settled in his new role.
"Whenever there's a change at a club, I think the fans have got to realise that it does take time for a new manager, a new coaching group to come in and get their ideas over to the players," he said.
"There's got to be a modicum of patience, but at Liverpool, expectation levels are very, very high and sometimes, in professional soccer, in elite soccer, patience is something that most managers don't get.
"As much as the fans have got to be aware that everything is new and there are new ideas, Arne and the players will want to get off to a quick start.
"I feel that this pre-season tour is going to help them start the season against Ipswich Town very strongly. I feel the games that they've got here in the US, here in Pittsburgh against Betis, and then we go to play Arsenal and Manchester United, the build-up is pretty good."
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