Women’s national team set for football friendly
The Cayman Islands women’s national football team
(CNS): The Cayman Islands women’s national football team returns to competitive play this week against Southwestern Oklahoma State University in a two-match friendly series.
The matches, which are free and open to the public, will take place Thursday, 14 May and Saturday, 16 May at the T.E. McField Sports Centre, starting at 7pm.
Southwestern Oklahoma State University competes in Division Two of the National Collegiate Athletic Association.
This will be the second two-match set against a collegiate football team this year following games against the University of New Haven Chargers in March.
Preparation for the series has been hampered by a lack of practice due to the unavailability of training venues. The team has had to share venues with the ongoing club championships at all divisions.
Despite the setbacks, team officials remain optimistic and urged the public to show their support.
“The team’s coaching staff continues to work towards getting the girls as best prepared as they can be,” said Renard Moxam, director of the national team.
“In the women’s national team programme, there exists a keen level of passion for the sport from our young ladies and the team will use these challenges as motivation to push themselves. I urge the public to support this young team as they use this test against Southwestern Oklahoma State to prepare for future international matches.”
The upcoming matches give head coach Alan Purvis further opportunity to evaluate players in preparation for the women’s Olympic qualifiers this summer.
“We have some of the overseas players starting to return home for the summer and we hope to incorporate them into these games and also work the entire squad hard over the summer in preparation for the Olympic qualifying games,” Purvis said.
The national team has been drawn to face host Trinidad and Tobago, Antigua and Barbuda, and St Lucia in the Caribbean Football Union qualifiers in August. The top team advances from the group to the final round of CONCACAF qualifiers.
“As our ladies prepare for Olympic qualifying, this will be another good test for the team, coming off the friendlies against the University of New Haven and the Guadeloupe women’s national team earlier this year.” said Bruce Blake, Cayman Islands Football Association first vice president.
“We have a young team; however, several of the players have a lot of international experience under their belts.”
Purvis added, “There is a lot of work to be done between now and then in securing venues that will allow us to prepare.”
The Cayman Islands Football Association is currently developing an artificial turf at the National Centre for Football Development. This will be the home for all national teams to prepare for international engagements.
“Having a field for national teams to prepare provides a much-needed fillip to the programmes. Our players will have a place to call their own and prepare to achieve the goals that have been set out,” Moxam said.
