BASSETERRE, St. Kitts – THE St. Kitts and Nevis Under-17 football team winged out of the Federation yesterday (Aug. 16) for the second leg of the FIFA World Cup Championship Qualifiers in Trinidad.
According to head coach Al Edwards, it is the third FIFA World Cup Championship at this level and the first time his team has made it this far.
Edwards said the team has a good chance as any in qualifying for the next round.
Tomorrow (Aug. 18) they will be playing against Trinidad and Tobago at 11:00 a.m. This will be followed by a match against Bermuda on Friday, August 20 at 3:00 p.m. and another against Cuba on Sunday, August 22, also at 3:00 p.m.
Edwards said that since the team returned from the first leg in Antigua in which they were successful, the players have been undergoing some extensive training.
He said the young footballers were a part of a training day camp which began around 9:00 a.m. and ended at 8:00 p.m. at Warner Park and Basseterre High School grounds.
He also said that motivational speakers were brought in to speak to the young men and get them mentally prepared to match with their physical training.
Edwards said the team was also involved in a community outreach programme at the Children’s Home where they interacted with the children.
The team had left for the first round in Antigua on Monday, July 19 where they won two matches and drew one.
In the first match, the team drew 2-2 with Antigua and was told that they had to beat the other teams by a large margin in order to qualify.
The young ball weavers went on to play St. Maarten and Anguilla and they convincingly won both matches 7-1 and 12-nil respectively.
At a welcoming ceremony held in the VIP room at the RLB Airport, several officials, including Permanent Secretary within the Ministry of Sports Lloyd Lazar and President of the St. Kitts-Nevis Football Association Anthony Johnson, congratulated the team on its success.
Recently, the footballers were treated to a luncheon at the Football House by students of the Youth Empowerment through Skills (YES) Programme.
The team is scheduled to return to the Federation on Monday, August 23.
