The Barbados Defence Force Sports Program (BDFSP) is the sporting arm of the

Barbados Defence Force The Barbados Defence Force (BDF) is the name given to the combined armed forces of Barbados. The BDF was established 15 August 1979, and has responsibility for the territorial defence and internal security of the island. The headquarters for the ...

. BDFSP recruits and trains athletes in five disciplines;

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

cricket Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by striki ...

table tennis Table tennis, also known as ping-pong and whiff-whaff, is a sport in which two or four players hit a lightweight ball, also known as the ping-pong ball, back and forth across a table using small solid rackets. It takes place on a hard table div ...

athletics Athletics may refer to: Sports * Sport of athletics, a collection of sporting events that involve competitive running, jumping, throwing, and walking ** Track and field, a sub-category of the above sport * Athletics (physical culture), competi ...

and

boxing Boxing (also known as "Western boxing" or "pugilism") is a combat sport in which two people, usually wearing protective gloves and other protective equipment such as hand wraps and mouthguards, throw punches at each other for a predetermined ...

. The program provides an opportunity for talented Barbadian athletes to concentrate on their chosen sport. BDFSP enter teams in the Barbados national competitions in both football and cricket.

Cricket

BDFSP is a cricket team that competes in the

Barbados Cricket Association The Barbados Cricket Association is the ruling body for cricket in Barbados. The BCA was established in 1933 by an Act of Parliament to replace the Barbados Cricket Challenge Cup Committee, which had administered Barbadian cricket since its format ...

Division 1 competition. The team was promoted to Division 1 for 2011, after having been relegated to the Upper Intermediate Division for the 2010 season. BDFSP have never won the Division 1 championship. Notable cricketers to have played for BDFSP include

Tino Best Tino la Bertram Best (born 26 August 1981) is a West Indian cricketer. Since 2002, he has played domestic cricket for his native Barbados, with a season at English club Yorkshire in 2010. Best made his Test debut in May 2003 and played his first ...

Football

The Barbados Defence Force Sports Program (BDFSP)

club is based in

Paragon Paragon may refer to: Places *Paragon, Indiana, a town in the United States * Paragon, Nebraska, former community in the United States *The Paragon, Bath, a Georgian street in the Walcot area of Bath * The Paragon, Blackheath, London, built by Mi ...

in the parish of Christ Church. They play their home games in the town of

Bridgetown Bridgetown (UN/LOCODE: BB BGI) is the capital and largest city of Barbados. Formerly The Town of Saint Michael, the Greater Bridgetown area is located within the parish of Saint Michael. Bridgetown is sometimes locally referred to as "The Ci ...

, in the Barbados' first division, the

Barbados Premier League The Premier League is the top football league in Barbados. It was created in 1947 and is headed by the Barbados Football Association. Ten teams participate in this league. It is known as the Digicel Premier League for sponsorship reasons. Desp ...

. The Barbados Defence Force also sponsors a team the second division, Division One. Both teams are commonly called "Barbados Defence Force" or simply BDF, but to distinguish the two clubs in competitions in which both teams participate (like the Barbados FA Cup), the Premier League side are called BDFSP and the Division One side are called BDF.

Achievements

: 6 :: 1995, 2007, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2019 * Barbados FA Cup: 3 :: 1994, 2012, 2015 * Barbados Super 8 Cup: 1 :: 2008

References

Football clubs in Barbados Cricket teams in Barbados Military of Barbados Military association football clubs {{Cricket-team-stub