The Tribune

By BRENT STUBBS

Senior Sports Reporter

bstubbs@tribunemedia.net

Following their three matches over the weekend in the BSWW Riviera Maya Cup in Cancun, Mexico, the Bahamas is now preparing to take the trek towards qualifying for the 2013 Beach Soccer World Cup.

Today on day one of the CONCACAF Qualifier Bahamas, the Bahamas is slated to face Puerto Rico at 3:45pm in the Malcolm Park beach soccer facility at the foot of the Sir Sidney Poitier Bridge. The five-day tournament is actually scheduled to begin at noon with Canada against Trinidad & Tobago in the first of five games.

“We’ve been training for the last three months and we have been playing very hard,” said Bahamas’ coach Roberto Ceciliano. “We spent a lot of time for this competition preparing for this tournament and we just came back from Mexico where we played three games against Brazil, Spain and Mexico to get ready for this high level of competition. These boys are focused and they have been preparing for the last three months. They have dedicated some time to put this team together.”

Team Bahamas’ members are Christopher Davis, Kyle Williams, Mark Daniels, Jason Edwards, Kamal de Gregory, Gary Joseph, Dwayne Forbes, Ehren Hanna, Lesly St Fleur, Nesley Jean, Gavin Christie and Valin Bodie.

“We have a few surprises and the team is looking good,” Ceciliano said. “We have some young players and we will try our best to qualify. You guys will see what we have done to prepare for this.”

Mexico’s coach Ramon Raya said the sport is growing year by year and they are excited to be here in the Bahamas competing in the qualifier.

“We have a lot of beaches, a lot of sand, especially in the Caribbean. It’s like the perfect sport for the place,” he said. “For Latin America, we have been growing a lot with El Salvador being fourth place, United States and Canada being in the second round, Mexico has been second place in World Cup. That does not happen in regular soccer, but we have more potential to being first place in the world and so we have to take advantage of that.”

As for Mexico, Raya said they are here for one purpose and that is to qualify for the World Cup in the facility, which is said to be the envy for the rest of the Caribbean region.

“We are the current champions and we have high expectations of being in the World Cup again,” he said. “For us, it is really important. We know how hard it is. We have some of the best coaches in the world here and that’s going to make the tournament tougher. They’ve been working and so the teams are going to have a lot more experience. For us, it’s not going to be easy.

“Some people mix us with regular soccer and so people expect us to win. We’re here just to win the championship if it’s possible and, if not, to qualify for the World Cup, no less.”

Jamaica’s ‘Reggae Boyz’ are also known for their success in the regular soccer competition, but coach Andrew Price said they’re not going to be any push overs here.

“Jamaica is very excited to be here and we hope to be competitive. We also come here to support our Caribbean colleagues, especially the Bahamas, which has the first beach soccer facility in the Caribbean,” Price said. “We’re here to carry the flag high for the Caribbean, along with our other Caribbean competitors.

“El Salvador is a very competitive team. The last World Cup qualifier we played them, we were leading 4-0 and ended up losing 10-8, so we pretty much know what they are capable of doing and we are prepared. We’re here to compete and compete hard. Hopefully if we do well, we might very well qualify. We respect all of the teams and all of the coaches here who are very seasoned, so I expect a very competitive tournament.”

The Jamaican team is made up of Kirk Porter, Gerald Neil, Ryan Powell, Daemion Benjamin, Rohan Reid, Kevin Wilson, Jermaine Anderson, Keith Kelly, Derrick Planter, Phillip Peddie, Gregory Simpson and Elvis Hart.

Price encouraged not only Bahamians, but Jamaicans and all other residents from the other countries to come out and watch the action.

Trinidad & Tobago’s coach Alexandre Soares said having participated three times at the World Cup, he noted that the level of competition here is going to be very high because there are some very excellent players who will be representing their respective teams.

Named to the Trinidadian team are Victor Thomas, Shallun Bobb, Makan Hislop, Ryan Agustine, Lemuel Lyons, Jesse Bailey, Rodney Nelson, David Dominic McDougall, Chad Apoo, Zane Cocker, Elijah Roberts and Hakeem King.

The players on the other teams are as follows:

MEXICO: Hector Robles, Angel David Rodriguez, Gonzalo Pichardo, Francisco Cati Balderrama, Benjamin Jesus Mosco, Oscar Gonzalez, Jorge Rodriguez, Omar Cervantes, Ricardo Villalobos, Gustavo Rosales, Morgan Plata and Miguel Angel Estrada.

GUATEMALA, coached by Pablo Rodriguez - Carlos Hurtarte, Christian Sosa, EWrick Suriano, Wilson Gonzalez, Fabio Ramirez, Samuel Perez, Luis, Valencia, Eduardo Samaoyo, Luis Zaldana, Jaime Veliz, Oscar Pineda and Jersson Alas.

UNITED STATES, coached by Eddie Soto - Mike McAndrews, Jason Leopoldo, Ryan Futagaki, Michael Edfield, Lewie Valentine, Eric Meister, Nicolas Perera, Anthony Chimienti, Oscar Gil, Francis Farberoff, Brendon Taguinod and Christopher Toth.

PUERTO RICO, coached by Vitor H Barros - Rene Bezares, Eloy J. Matos, Elliot Velez, Juan G. Velez, Carlos Vendrell, Raphael O. Ortiz, Oscar A. Rodriquez, Alvaro A. Torres, Esteban E. Torres, Alexis Rivera, Javier O. Lalondriz and Emmanuel F. German.

GUYANA, coached by Hamid - Odil Allicock, Gerald Blair, Omeion Wills, Jermaine Grandison, Colrick Beckles, Michael Wilson, Claude Dennis, Keon Sears, Ron Feidtkou, Darrel George, Marmarlaque Davidson and Travis Bess.

CANADA, coached by Djamel Laarabi - Julien Lefevbre, Joe Lachambre, Joenathan Di Buono, Kyriakos Selaidopoulos, Francois Boivin, Louis-Charles Lalibrerte, Yannick Rome-Gosselin, Djamel Laarabi, Edzevid Deljevic, Olivier Babineau, Patrick Leduc and Vincent Cournoyer.

EL SALVADOR, coached by Mauricio Gonzalez Gallo - Hertbert Alexander Ramos, Wilber Joel Zabala, Heriberto Parada Martinez, Tomas Antonio Hernandez, Jose Roberto Membreno, Elias Alexander Ramirez, Walter Alexander Torres, Elmer Atilio Robles, Jose Ruben Batres, Jose Agustin Ruiz, Francisco Hernando Velasquez and Jose Eliodoro Portillo.

COSTA RICA, coached by Franklin Zuniga - Enrico Regidor Barboza, Jeffrey Aguirre Rivera, Jose Mendoza McAdam, Gerald Mena Saenz, Ademar Cordero Arce, Danny Jhonson, Isaias Mora, Greivin Alberto Pacheco, Omar Brenes Vargas, Aramis Lopez Chacon, Dennis Rodriguez and Caludio Adanis Mora.