TRINIDAD AND Tobago will start their defence of the Caribbean Football Union (CFU) Futsal crown when they meet Puerto Rico in a Group “A” battle, at the Canedo Hall, Dr Joao Havelange Centre of Excellence, Tunapuna tonight.
In tomorrow’s double-header from five o’clock, Guyana and Haiti will square off in Group “B” while Puerto Rico and Suriname will meet in Group “A.”
The round-robin group stages will end on Saturday with Haiti and St Maarten facing off at 4 pm while the hosts will battle Suriname two hours later.
Runners-up of each group will meet in the third-place playoff on Sunday, at 4 pm, with the final scheduled to begin two hours later.
The CFU event, which was scheduled to take place from March 5-9 at the Cliff Anderson Sports Hall in Guyana, was relocated to Trinidad, due to recent violent incidents in the South American country.
Trinidad and Tobago will be staging their second Caribbean Futsal Tournament.
The first one took place at the University of West Indies Sports Complex (UWI SPEC) in St Augustine in 2004.
Trinidad and Tobago’s 12-member team comprises six members of the victorious 2004 team — captain and goalkeeper Kevin Graham, his deputy Sterling O’Brien, Anthony Small, Jerwyn Balthazar, Wendell Douglas and Colin Joseph.
Completing the team are goalie Jason Bowen, Javon Skeete, Clint Ramond, Ricardo Bennett, Brent Antoine and Kevin Peters, with Perry Martin (keeper) and Ronald St Louis as the reserves.
The finalists of this week’s competition will join Costa Rica, Cuba, Mexico, Panama, USA and the hosts Guatemala at the 2008 CONCACAF Futsal Championship at the Domo Polideportivo in Guatemala City from June 2-8.
The CONCACAF Championship will also progress three teams to the 2008 FIFA Futsal World Cup in Brazil from September 30 to October 19.