Cayman’s under-23 football squad
(CNS): The Cayman Islands Olympic football squad is in Haiti competing in the first round of the 2015 CONCACAF Men’s Olympic Qualifying Championship. Cayman is playing matches against St Kitts and Nevis, Barbados and host country, Haiti, in Group 1 of the draw for participating Caribbean Football Union (CFU) teams.
Renard Moxam, director of national teams, said the squad has been in preparation for six weeks under the tutelage of head coaches Alex Gonzalez and Alban Ruiz.
“We are drawn in a very competitive group and respect all of the football countries we will be competing against but equally we intend to give the games our best efforts and see where it takes us,” Moxam said.
Team captain Wesley Robinson said that it was an honour to play for the national team and to lead his side in the Olympic qualifiers.
“Since I was a kid I have always dreamed about playing football and representing my country at the highest level,” he said.
“The team have been training hard, day in and day out, to get ready for the matches in Haiti this week. We look forward to seeing our hard work pay off and to hopefully coming home with a good result.”
The final round will be held 14-16 August and will determine which two teams from the Caribbean Zone qualify for the 2015 CONCACAF Men’s Olympic Qualifying Championship later this year.
This U23 team has potential, but I cannot see them even being competitive, due to the lack of a national development plan that is geared and tailored from the grassroots level towards developing Caymanian players to compete at this level against Islands such as St Kitts, Haiti, and Barbados. Our current National Technical Director so far have not produced a national development plan to address and correct the problems of the past why Cayman is not producing a more fundamental player who is capable of competing at this level.
To confirm the above just saw where Cayman lost to St Kitts 6 nil in their first game. Hope
these players as in the past is not being used as a means to a end for certain people. These
are our sons of the soil that is representing us and we the public should hold those who is in
charge of our National Program accountable for these kind of dismal results. We must demand valid explanations and not excuses as was the way in the past with our National Programs.