The Tribune

By RENALDO DORSETT

Sports Reporter 

rdorsett@tribunemedia.net

THE junior development programme of the Bahamas Football Association (BFA) will reach another major milestone when the country hosts international competition in less than a month.

The Bahamas is all set to host the Caribbean Football Union Men’s Under-17 tournament at the Roscow A L Davies Soccer Field at the Baillou Hills Sporting Complex July 21-28.

Twenty teams will compete in this first round of the  CONCACAF qualifier and the Bahamas group will include Bermuda, Martinique and Puerto Rico. The additional top two teams in the draw, Haiti and Jamaica, will receive first round byes directly to the final round, hosted in Haiti.

Other opening round hosts at the group stage include Guadeloupe, Trinidad and Tobago, Dominica and Cuba. 

Winners in each group and the top-ranked second place finishers will advance.

The Bahamas’ junior national team programme has been undergoing training sessions under head coach Dion Godet for the past three months and the final roster of 18 will be released this weekend.

BFA secretary general Fred Lunn calls it one of the best prepared junior national teams he has seen in recent memory.

Many of the players that have been in training camp for the current under-17 side were members of the Bahamas’ CONCACAF under-15 side which competed in the Cayman Islands in 2013.

The team gained a wealth of experience from the tournament and finished with a 1-3-1 record, in addition to a goal difference of +1.

“This team has done a phenomenal job in preparation and that is a credit to Dion Godet, the staff and anyone that has really spearheaded this team coming together and we are all eager to see how they perform against a very challenging group,” Lunn said.

“These boys have played at this level before, for many of them it was an eye opening experience at the international level but the experience in Cayman will no doubt add to their confidence when they compete at home. With the Bahamian public, friends and family cheering in the stands, I know that 12th man will make a difference in the way they perform.”

The Bahamas will attempt to qualify for its third CONCACAF Championship in as many years.

The Under-17 Women advanced to the 2012 CONCACAF Championship after an historic performance at the qualifiers.

Against the top regional powerhouses in the region, they finished the tournament with a 0-2-1 record, highlighted by a 0-0 draw against Trinidad and Tobago.

“Tournaments like these are ones we hope to build on because it is the way the sport and the national programme of the country develops. We are in the businesses of developing these kids and using football to build their characters and get advance to the collegiate level,” Lunn said. “These same kids excelling at the junior level are kids that have progressed through the the programme. Our continued focus has to be on development.”