The National Under 15 Men’s Team will face a Republic Bank Invitational Under 15 Team at the Ato Boldon Stadium from 6:30pm this Saturday (April 15th) to mark the opening of the Republic Bank National Youth League.
The game will mark the unveiling of the National Under 15 Team, under head coach Russell Latapy as they engage in preparations for the 2019 FIFA Under 17 Men’s World Cup qualifying campaign.
“This match will provide us with a good opportunity to have the boys in a game environment as obviously they are eager to play as we have been engaged in training sessions for a good part of this year already,” Latapy told TTFA Media.
“The preparations have been ongoing and the interest and the willingness among the boys to put in the effort and take things on board in training has been commendable,” the former Porto player added.
This year the Republic Bank National Youth league runs for 3 months and is the TTFA’s approved National Youth League. More than 100 clubs are expected to play in the league. Latapy’s under 15 team comprises of players who were selected during a nationwide screening event a couple months ago at the Carapichaima East Secondary School.
The Republic Bank National Youth League kicks off Saturday 22nd April in the Queens Park Savannah.
Fans are invited to attend Saturday’s match and there will be a admission fee of $10 with proceeds going towards the National Under 15 Team’
The National Under 15 team is looking ahead to the 2017 CONCACAF Boys Under-15 Championship at IMG’s world-renowned campus in Bradenton, Florida, August 13-19th.
The tournament, which will take place from August 13-19, is expected to include a record number of youth players from CONCACAF’s Member Associations in a competition format designed to provide valuable experience. All 40 eligible CONCACAF Member Associations are expected to participate, Concacaf stated.
In addition to providing a world-class venue, IMG Academy will also offer training and development programming for the athletes, coaches and referees. Programming could include coaching education, athlete leadership development, referee development and cognitive and visual perception training.
Nations from across the CONCACAF region have already entered the tournament that is designed to encourage development for youth players from across the Confederation, while promoting competition at the international level for all Member Associations – including those for which few competitive opportunities exist at this age level. The competition format, schedule and roster of participating Member Associations will be announced as the tournament nears.
Honduras captured the inaugural CONCACAF Boys Under-15 Championship in 2013, topping a field of 22 teams in the Cayman Islands.