 The Government of St. Lucia has announced the re-establishment of a football taskforce to aid with the development of the sport. The announcement was made by Minister for Youth Development and Sports, Hon. Edmund Estefan, and the sitting of the House of Assembly on Tuesday. The decision was made after fruitful discussions with the St. Lucia Football Association, Inc., SLFA, through the Ministry of Youth Development and Sports. Hon. Estefan noted that the Government is aware that FIFA's statutes of operations restrict third-party influence and does not want to contravene. However, the Minister indicated that the Government understands that it plays a pivotal role in creating an enabling environment for the sport. It was agreed that the relationship between the Government of St. Lucia, through the Ministry of Youth Development and Sports and the SNFA will be strengthened through the re-establishment of the football taskforce, which was organised a couple of years ago, comprising the Government, the Ministry of Sports, the SNFA, business partners, private sector and independent individuals. The taskforce will be charged with the responsibility of suggesting ways in which the relationship between the SNFA in footballers and the general public can be strengthened through the ultimate goal of restoring confidence and making football a more exciting and beautiful game. The focus of the taskforce will be to implement more football matches using a two-tier system, including the relegation and promotion of teams. It is anticipated that with this new shift, football in St. Lucia can move towards a semi-professional league system in accordance with international norms. The Government of St. Lucia fully embraces this global idea and has pledged to continue its infrastructure development programme on some of our playing fields around the island. This would create the conducive environment to host local, regional and international games on world-class facilities. Honourable Estefan expressed confidence that the improvement of playing facilities will solidify St. Lucia as a lucrative sports tourism destination.