TT U-20 women battle Jamaica today

Football attention now turns to the women as preparation for the prestigious CONCACAF Under-20 Women’s Championship begins in earnest.

The competition, which serves as this region’s final qualifiers for the 2018 FIFA Under-20 Women’s World Cup, is scheduled to be hosted in Trinidad and Tobago from January 18-28, at the “Home of Football”, the Ato Boldon Stadium in Couva.

The Trinidad and Tobago team, under the direction of coach Jamaal Shabazz, will face a stern test this week when they face Jamaica in two warm-up matches carded for today and Saturday, with the visitors preparing for the Caribbean qualifying tournament for a chance to play in TT come January. Those qualifiers will be hosted in St Kitts/Nevis from November 22-26 and also features the Dominican Republic, Haiti and the home team battling for the final two spots.

Today’s match-up will kick off at the Ato Boldon Stadium in Couva from 6.30 pm and the Saturday encounter will be part of the TTFA (Trinidad and Tobago Football Association) Women Football Day Celebrations at the Manny Ramjohn Stadium in Marabella. Saturday’s match begins at 4 pm and will be the climax of events to commemorate CONCACAF Women’s Football Day. Leading off the festivities on Saturday will be the NLCB Elite Youth Development Programme Girls Under-14 Tournament at 9 am which will feature three 40-minute matches between teams representing the six Regional Associations under the TTFA.

Shabazz is no stranger to high level women’s competition but he is eager for the encounter. “Jamaica is never an easy opponent at any level of any sport, therefore, this is the perfect test for us with the Championship just over 60 days away,” Shabazz said.

“At the last instalment of the CONCACAF Championship we did not do too well, being eliminated at the group stage in Honduras. As hosts our first mission is to get in the final four and put ourselves in a position to take the Championship,” the coach concluded.

This will be no easy task with Trinidad and Tobago grouped with Costa Rica, Canada and the second placed team from the Caribbean qualifiers. With only the top two advancing to the final-four knockout stage, TT will be aiming for a positive start when they face their Caribbean counterparts on the opening night of competition come January 18.