CFU Men’s Cup begins today

Photo: Cuba Caribbean Cup 2012 Champions (CFU)

The 2014 Caribbean Football Union (CFU) Men’s Caribbean Cup is into its First Round stage as the competition continues this Wednesday, September 3, at four separate venues in four groups.

The venues and groups are Martinique (Group3), Puerto Rico (Group 4), Antigua & Barbuda (Group 5) and St Kitts & Nevis (Group 6).

With the preliminary stages out of the way it’s down to serious business as the competition moves into high gear.

In Group 3, on Wednesday September 3, Barbados plays Suriname at the Stade Pierre Aliker á Fort de France at 6:00pm in Martinique, and at 8:00pm the host meet neighbours Bonaire.

On Friday, September 5, Suriname plays Bonaire at 6:00pm and Martinique faces Barbados at 8:00pm at the Stade Alfred Marie-Jeanne á Riviėre-Pilote.

Bonaire encounters Barbados at 4:00pm on September 7, while at 6:00pm, Martinique takes on Suriname at the Stade Pierre Aliker á Fort de France.

Group 4 games will be played at the Juan Loubriel Stadium in Puerto Rico between Grenada and French Guiana on September 3, at 4:30pm followed by the game between Puerto Rico and Curacao at 7:30pm.

On day two September 5, Curacao meets Grenada at 4:30pm and at 7:30pm Puerto Rico come up against French Guiana. The last set of games in this group will be played at 2:30pm and 5:30 when French Guiana plays Curacao and Puerto Rico encounters Grenada respectively.

In Antigua and Barbuda where Group 5 will be staged the Dominican Republic team goes up against St Vincent and the Grenadines at 5:00pm on September 3, at the Antigua Recreation Grounds and at 7:00pm the host clash with Anguilla.

On September 5, St Vincent and the Grenadines play the first game against Anguilla at 5:00pm and at 7:00pm Antigua and Barbuda face the Dominican Republic. On September 7, Anguilla meets the Dominican Republic in the early game and in the feature game at 7:00pm Antigua & Barbuda tackles St Vincent and the Grenadines.

Group 6 also commences on September 3 with Guyana and Dominica playing the first game at Warner Park Stadium in St Kitts and Nevis at 5:30pm; followed by St Kitts & Nevis clashing with St Lucia at 8:30pm.

Day two on September 5 will see St Lucia meeting Guyana at 5:30pm followed by the game between St Kitts& Nevis and Guyana at 8:30pm.

On September 7, Dominica plays St Lucia in the early game at 5:30pm while St Kitts & Nevis hosts Guyana in the late game. Round Two will feature three (3) ranked teams: Guadeloupe, Haiti and Trinidad & Tobago.

These ranked teams will be joined by the nine (9) qualifying teams from Round 1, and will be grouped in Three (3) Groups of four (4) teams. This Round will be played between FIFA International Match Calendar dates of 06-14 October 2014 in Trinidad & Tobago (Group 7), Haiti (Group 8) and Guadeloupe (Group 9).

The Final Round is scheduled to be hosted by Jamaica during the FIFA International Match Calendar dates of 10 – 18 November 2014.

The eight (8) team final round will feature Cuba as defending champions, Jamaica as final round host country; alongside the Winner and Runner-Up of each group from Round 2.

The Final Round will be played in a Round Robin format with the eight (8) teams grouped in two (2) groups of four (4) teams This is the CFU’s flagship tournament which gives the opportunity for teams to have bragging rights in the region and it is also the gateway for entry into the CONCACAF Gold Cup competition.