GEORGE TOWN, Grand Cayman:
Caribbean Football Union (CFU) champions Jamaica, along with regional counterparts Trinidad and Tobago and hosts Cayman Islands, are among eight competing for the title of the CONCACAF Women’s Under-20 Championship, and a spot in FIFA’s World Cup Final.
GEORGE TOWN, Grand Cayman:
Caribbean Football Union (CFU) champions Jamaica, along with regional counterparts Trinidad and Tobago and hosts Cayman Islands, are among eight competing for the title of the CONCACAF Women’s Under-20 Championship, and a spot in FIFA’s World Cup Final.
The tournament kicks off today and runs through to the 19th at the Truman Bodden Sports Complex, George Town, Grand Cayman.
The top-three teams from CONCACAF will advance to the FIFA World Cup Finals, scheduled to be played in Canada later this year.
Jamaica will be competing in Group A and will meet with Guatemala, Costa Rica and the United States, while hosts Cayman Islands will face counterparts Trinidad and Tobago, Honduras, and Mexico.
The Reggae Girlz, to be led by midfielder Marlo Sweatman, will take on Guatemala in their first game of the championship at 5 p.m. today.
They have never qualified for FIFA women’s World Cup and have a chance to create history.
On their way to CFU Championship success, Oshay Lawes and Khadija Shaw were Jamaica’s principal scorers, and at this level, they will be looked upon to play a similarly important role.
According to Vin Blaine, technical director of Jamaica’s women’s football programme, the young Reggae Girlz are mentally and physically prepared to get the job done, despite being drawn in a difficult group.
“We are drawn in a difficult group. However, the girls are mentally and physically prepared to get the job done. Our aim is to make it to the semi-finals and take it from there,” he said.
As part of their preparation for this challenging competition, the Jamaicans went to Florida for a training camp which lasted from January 1-7, after which they departed for the Cayman Islands.
The Soca Princesses also were in Florida preparing for the tournament, as they had two practice games against two college teams to help with their final selection.
Team manager Linda Hoyte-Sanchez told the CFU BEACON that the squad is training very hard and she is impressed with what she has seen so far.
“The girls are training hard and we used these two college practice games to put the final touches to our plans to make it to the final four, and then the final three to qualify us for the FIFA World Cup Finals. They are ready and the unit is hyped at the moment,” commented Hoyte-Sanchez.
Hosts Cayman Islands did their preparations in Fort Lauderdale, where they played back-to-back practice games against two college teams, in order to expose the players to a different football environment.
In a brief interview, head coach of the Cayman Islands team Joe Supe, said: “I have high hopes for the Cayman Islands team. Although the team is relatively young, I expect the girls to perform well after over five weeks of hard training preparing them both physically and mentally.
“They have bonded and are very excited about playing these games. They have the right attitude, and with the progress they have made I believe if they remain positive and show up on game day, they will perform well.”
Photo: Trudi Carter
Source: Jamaica Gleaner
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