National U-15 girls set for Orlando

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PRESS RELEASE – The Saint Lucia Football Association has completed all arrangements to cause the Saint Lucia Girls Under 15 National Team to participate in the upcoming CONCACAF Girls Under 15 Championship which takes place in Orlando, Miami, USA from the 9 – 21 August 2016.

Eighteen Girls and Six Officials will leave the state on Monday 8th August bound to Orlando whee they will compete against teams from all over the world.

Twenty-two (22) nations from across the CONCACAF region, as well as invitee Venezuela from CONMEBOL, have signed on to participate in the tournament, designed to encourage development for youth players from across the Confederation, while promoting competition at the international level for all associations – including those for which few opportunities have previously existed at this age level.

The teams scheduled to participate by region are as follows:

CFU (16): Anguilla, Antigua & Barbuda, Bahamas, Barbados, Bermuda, Cayman Islands, Curacao, Dominican Republic, Grenada, Haiti, Jamaica, Puerto Rico, Santa Lucia, St Vincent & Grenadines, Trinidad & Tobago, US Virgin Islands

UNCAF (3): Costa Rica, El Salvador, Nicaragua, North America (3): Canada, Mexico, United States, CONMEBOL (1): Venezuela

Teams will be divided into three groups of five teams and two groups of four teams. All of the group winners, plus the second place teams from the five-team groups, will advance to the quarterfinals. 

The Saint Lucia Football Association has expressed that its participation is part of its strategic plan for women’s football and geared at providing the girls with the exposure and experience as it rebuilds its national women’s program. It stressed that it was not a matter of winning yet but a matter of the development of Women’s Football

The association would like to thank the Ministry of Youth Development and Sports, the national Lotteries Authority, the parents of the girls, the private sector, FIFA and CONCACAF for their support.

The entire endeavor cost the Association a total of $113,000.00 for team preparation, visa acquisitions, and travel to Orlando.

Canada is the defending champion, after defeating Haiti 4-1 in penalties, in the title match of the 2014 edition, played in the Cayman Islands. 

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