A group of “bright and talented” BVI footballers are off to compete in the CONCACAF U15 Championship being hosted by the Dominican Republic from August 6th to 13th, 2023, with expectations high of a good performance.
The last time the Championship was held, back in 2019, the BVI won Division C and are now top seeded in their group, which also includes Dominica and Turks and Caicos Islands. The other teams in the same division as the BVI, but separate groups include Sint Marten, St Vincent and the Grenadines, USVI, French Guiana, Anguilla, and Saint Maarten.
The preparation for the squad, all of whom are based within the Territory and Coached by Cassandra Gregg and has been intensive with a combination of regular training, tournaments and a series of friendly games all taking place in the past few months.
“Originally we were in a group of four and playing in Curacao, but how we are a group of 3 and playing in DR” commented Gregg “we had a very successful tournament over Easter and more recently made a trip to play St Kitts, which was a great experience for the Boys, and what I always say to my players is Anything they can do; we can do better” concluded Coach Gregg
First up will be a game next Tuesday, August 8th against TCI and then face Dominica on Wednesday August 9th. Both games kick off at 9.00am local time.
Captain Mario Carter is feeling very positive about the teams’ chances “not too long ago we were in St Kitts and when came back, we analyzed the games, saw the kind of mistakes we made and worked hard in practice to correct them. We are mentally and physically prepared and although we have to work on a couple of things, like chemistry and discipline, I am very confidant.”
The Asst Coach is Jeffrey Demming and the Goalkeeper Coach, Morris Mark.
The travelling squad includes Carter as Captain, Latreil Williams as vice-captain, Marc Tan, Christian Vanterpool, Tiandre Frett, Quyl Billingy, Myles Penn, Kyle Farrington, Akeem Paddy, Lashaun Gibbs, Temari Nanton, Othniel Gillings, Michael Findlay, Morris Mark III, Kenley Williams, Zeviah Abrahams, roman Nibbs, Malique Fenton, and D’Andre McSheen
“Our defense is very hard to get passed and is really good, so once our midfield does their jobs, I’m pretty sure we will come out on top of our group” confirmed Gregg.
FA President Andy Bickerton also noted that the young players were now well and truly on the pathway to Senior National team levels “these boys are now playing at U15 levels and the next step from the FA’s point of view is to be looking at the squad for U17 level, and two thirds of our Men’s National team have already come through our Youth Programs, so they all know that they way they behave on and off the field , with studies and how well they represent the Territory will keep them on that pathway”