Girls’ U-15 national team heading to CONCACAF tourney
Members of the Girls’ Under 15 National Team
(CNS Local Life): The Cayman Islands is set to compete in the 2018 CONCACAF Girls’ Under 15 Championships scheduled for 6-13 August at the IMG Academy in Bradenton, Florida. The Girls’ Under 15 National Football Team will be participating in Group E in Division 2 starting with an opening-day match against the Bahamas.
Cayman will then play Guyana on 7 August and St Lucia on 9 August. Finishing at the top of the group will give the young footballers an opportunity to play a semifinal match on Friday, 10 August. A second, third or fourth place result in the group will guarantee at least a consolation game.
The team has been together and in training since October 2017 under head coach Alexander Gonzales, and assistant coach Shakeina Bush, stated a Cayman Islands Football Association (CIFA) press release.
The coaching staff selected the 18-member team from the approximately 30 players on the squad, based on the satisfaction of a number of expectations and criteria.
The team members are Hannah Scott, Alexia Bromfield, Shuwayne Fyne, Artemis Deslandes-Hydes, Molly Kehoe, Kasey Golding, Lilly Powery, Kayla Bradley, Riley Doyle, Shayana Windsor, Katriona Williams, Ethana Villalobos, Kalie Ebanks, Satiah Miller, Kiara Lemay, Nassaria Whittaker, Chloe Bentick-Lalli and Raeanne Ebanks-Hydes.
After the tournament, the full squad will begin training for the FIFA Girls’ Under 17 World Cup qualifiers, which start in 2019.
Commenting on preparations, Bush, who also serves as chairperson of CIFA’s women’s committee, said, “The young ladies have been training hard and have proven that they have the commitment, dedication and correct attitude required to be called national athletes.
“They have been preparing for this tournament for the past 10 months and are looking forward to competing. Under head coach, Alexander Gonzales, they have been developing their technical and tactical understanding of how we want them to play as a national team.”
Bush added, “I am excited to see how the young ladies will do in this tournament and look forward to the future development of these athletes as well as those players who will return to training when we return from this tournament.”
CIFA president, Alfredo Whittaker, said this national team is one of several that will be competing internationally this year for Cayman., pointing to the men heading to the CONCACAF Nations League in August and the under-20 men preparing for the FIFA Under 20 World Cup qualifiers in November.
“One of my main initiatives is to ensure that all of our national teams, both male and female, are training and competing on a regular basis,” Whittaker said. “With the assistance of funding from FIFA and CONCACAF, we are able to achieve this objective.”
For more information on the Girls’ Under 15 National Team and the Girls’ Youth National Programme call (927-8188) or email Shakeina Bush
