Trinidad and Tobago’s Under 17 Men’s Head Coach Ken Elie has selected a 26-man squad that will continue preparations towards the final round of Caribbean Football Union Under 17 World Cup qualifiers to be staged in T&T in September.
Elie has been overseeing preparations of the team since last year June and will be pushing on with the build-up program prior to the upcoming qualifiers.
Commenting on his selection thus far, Elie said: “We’ve got a good mixture of youngsters in the squad at this stage.
“The internal competition for positions is very keen and aggressive. There are three foreign based players in Omar Da Naia and Luke Singh from Canada; and Jonathan Godette of the USA. There is interest in one Tyresse Edwards of Canada, who is the lead scorer in his region in his last two divisional playoffs.
“We are into our first of five weeks on strength and conditioning training which in being spearheaded by Ronald Bradshaw at the Gym facilities at the National Stadium.
“We will also have regular sessions in May and June where the emphasis will be on tactical and technical precision as well as our psychological state regarding our competitive application and winning attitude,” Elie added to TTFA Media.
“What we’ve noticed is not only the abundance of talent within the squad but the appetite to play for country and to continue to learn and work hard is quite impressive.
He added that among those who have been consistent in training include Renaldo Mcintosh, John-Paul Rochford, Mark Ramdeen, Keshon Hackshaw, Jevaughn Humphrey, Nion Lammy, Omar da Naia, Luke Singh and Elijah Shade.
The 2017 FIFA Under 17 World Cup will be hosted by India which is the first time any FIFA tournament will be staged there. Four teams from CONCACAF will qualify for the 24-nation World Cup slated for September 2017.
T&T have appeared at two previous Under 17 World Cups, first in 2001 in T&T when the squad included the likes of current Senior Team players Kenwyne Jones, Jan Michael Williams and Marvin Phillip and then in 2007 South Korea when the local team qualified with players such as Kevin Molino, Daneil Cyrus, Sean De Silva, Leston Paul, Aubrey David and Sheldon Bateau.
Trinidad and Tobago U-17 Squad
| Name | School | Club |
|---|---|---|
| Ackeel Jacob | Point Fortin East Secondary | Point Fortin Civic FC |
| Andre Raymond | Trinity College East | W Connection |
| Brandon Semper | San Juan North Secondary | San Juan Jabloteh |
| Christian Ransome | Trinity College Moka | W Connection |
| Che’ Benny | St. Anthony’s College | St. Ann’s Rangers |
| Darius Dickson | Queen’s Royal College | DM Sport Academy |
| Darnell Charles | Arima North Secondary | North East Stars |
| Devon Charles | Arima North Secondary | |
| Elijah Shade | St. Anthony’s College | San Juan Jabloteh |
| Emmanuel John | Trinity College Moka | San Juan Jabloteh |
| Jerrin Jackie | Presentation College, San Fernando | Point Fortin Civic FC |
| Jesse Williams | Mucurapo East Secondary | St. Ann’s Rangers |
| Jevaughn Humphrey | St. Benedict’s College | W Connection |
| John-Paul Rochford | Queen’s Royal College | FC Santa Rosa/North East Stars |
| Jonathan Godette | Maryland US | DC United |
| Judah Garcia | Shiva Boys Hindu College | Point Fortin Civic FC |
| Keon Boney | North Eastern College | North East Stars |
| Luke Singh | Canada Soccer Academy | |
| Mark Ramdeen | Shiva Boys Hindu College | W Connection |
| Nickel Orr | Trinity College East | San Juan Jabloteh |
| Nion Lammy | Presentation College, San Fernando | Point Fortin Civic FC |
| Omar da Naia | Canada Soccer Academy | |
| Renaldo McIntosh | Mayaro Secondary | Club Sando |
| Keshon Hackshaw | Trinity College East | North East Stars |
| Tyrike Andrews | Couva East Secondary | W Connection |
| Zidane Liverpool | Five Rivers Secondary | W Connection |