by Carlena Knight
The Women’s Under-17 national football team for the second time will face disappointment as the regional tournament which was organised to fill the void for all the teams that were unable to attend last month’s CONCACAF tournament in Florida has been postponed.
During an interview on the Good Morning JoJo Sports Show on Friday, the Antigua and Barbuda Football Association’s (ABFA’s) Technical Director Sowerby Gomes revealed that the team would travel to Grenada on November 17 to participate in the event.
However, later that day, he announced the new development regarding the regional tournament.
“Well, what I can say in regards to the tournament is that the tournament has been postponed until further notice due to the vaccination protocols in Grenada and that’s all I have to say on this until we can get matters rectified,” Gomes said.
The postponement was a result of news coming out of Grenada that the Chief Medical Officer (CMO) stated that they would not be accepting any players who have not taken the two doses of a Covid-19 vaccine.
“But it is the aim to have the tournament go ahead. In the meantime, the different associations will meet and try to see how we can make things happen,” Gomes added.
Despite sharing his disappointment, Gomes mentioned that the girls will still have to focus their attention on the upcoming College Combine.
“It puts a damper on things but as we speak; our girls are out on the field in training. So, it tells you that they are still pretty much eager to go out and play. Plus, with what we have coming up in the next couple of weeks as it relates to our US College Combine, they have to remain focused for that and that is paramount,” Gomes added.
The FA is currently running sessions with a number of players as they seek to identify the best suitable candidates for the combine.
Coaches representing more than 60 US-based learning institutions will attend next month’s combined football camp to be hosted by the Antigua and Barbuda Football Association (ABFA) in hopes of getting young male and female players into schools across the USA.
The combine will run from December 12 to 14 and will take place at the FA’s training and technical centre on the Sir Sydney Walling Highway.