Benna Boys Into Gold Cup Prelims Following Expulsion Of Nicaragua

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The Benna Boys finished with the highest points (overall) in League B of the 2022/23 Concacaf Nations League to not have qualified to the 2023 Gold Cup Prelims
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By Neto Baptiste

The Antigua and Barbuda senior national men’s football team, the Benna Boys, will play in the preliminary round of the Concacaf Gold Cup after action by the body’s disciplinary committee resulted in the exclusion of the Nicaragua men’s national team from competing in the 2023 edition of the tournament.

Nicaragua were set to contest Group A of the tournament but were expelled and relegated to League B of the 2023/24 edition after being found guilty of fielding an ineligible player in eight senior men’s national team matches, including matches in the 2022/23 Concacaf Nations League.   

Manager Fernando Abraham said the Antigua and Barbuda Football Association (ABFA) is in the process of putting a squad together for their opening fixture against Guadeloupe on Friday in Florida.

“Well, we’re trying to put a team together, and as you know, the season is over, both here and in England, but we have players from here and in the UK that we have contacted and the ones who are available and have their relative travel documents, we will be picking a squad from that to travel with the team,” he said. 

The recent ruling means that Nicaragua will be replaced in the 2023 Gold Cup Group Stage by the Trinidad and Tobago team by virtue of them being the highest second-place team overall from League B groups in the 2022/23 tournament, while the place in the Gold Cup Preliminary Round previously occupied by the Trinidad and Tobago team will go to the Antigua and Barbuda men’s national team.

The Benna Boys finished with the highest points (overall) in League B of the 2022/23 Concacaf Nations League to not have qualified to the 2023 Gold Cup Prelims.

Abraham, a former national defender, said the scenario does not offer much time to prepare, but believes it is a great opportunity for the players.

“It’s short notice and it’s not enough time for preparing the way we really want, but we think it’s a good opportunity and we should take it. It’s going to be tough, but because we’re going to Florida and American Airlines is always available, we should be able to get there without any problems,” he said.

If successful in Friday’s opener against Guadeloupe, Antigua and Barbuda must win a second preliminary match if they are to advance to the group stage of the Gold Cup.

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