TCI Girls U14 National Football Team To Participate In The 2019 CFU Challenge Series
The Caribbean Football Union (CFU) Girls Under-14 Challenge Series is a development competition organized by CFU. The objective of this tournament is to provide competitive International Games for that age group so as to assist in the preparation of the teams for the Concacaf Girls U15 Tournament in the Summer of 2020. Twenty-two out of thirty-one member associations will participate in 2019 edition of the tournament. The tournament consist of five groups (groups 1-5), three groups consist of 4 teams each, and two of which consist of 3 teams each. The matches in each group will be played in a round robin format, with each team playing one match against the other participating teams in the same group.
The Turks & Caicos Islands was drawn in Group 3, along with Haiti, Bonaire, Anguilla and Puerto Rico. These matches, in particular, will be played in Puerto Rico at Estadio Juan Ramon Loubriel Stadium, August 7-14.
“We are taking very young players with very little competitive experience, and we are training them with all seriousness and dedication,” explained Director of Women’s Football and Head Coach, Yunelsis Rodrigues-Baez. Director Baez continued, “One of our main focuses is to perfect the elements of our group tactics. The CFU Girls Under-14 Challenge Series will be an excellent opportunity for our young team to have another experience in an official tournament where they will face other teams from within our immediate region, and play against rivals of greater quality. I would also like to take this time to recognise and thank our collective technical squad that has been working with the team, the parents, and the TCIFA at large, for their ultimate support.”
In preparation the team played 3 International Friendly matches against Cayman Islands in the month of May, and an additional 3 International Friendly matches against Cuban teams in the month of July. These games furthered their pre-tournament preparation, and it is expected that it will raise the competitive level of our girls. Tournaments of this nature are essential to both the TCIFA’s and team’s progress, as it provides a higher-level of competition for our young players, as well as providing a unique opportunity to try different tactics and formations. This is just one of the ways that the TCIFA improves upon the current status of it’s national programmes.
