International football returns to the Turks and Caicos Islands with a three-day tournament featuring the TCI National Boys and Girls Under 15 teams going up against their US Virgin Islands counterpart from Friday, July 2 to Sunday, July 4 at the TCIFA Academy Field.
Dubbed the Girls and Boys Under 15 Invitational Tournament, the females will open the curtains at 5pm, followed by the boys’ competition 7pm.
The competition continues Saturday, with the Boys Under 15 taking the field against their US Virgin Islands peers, followed by the female faceoff at 7pm.
The competition will then climax on Sunday, with what is expected to be an all or nothing quest. The females are scheduled to grace the field first in their 4pm curtain-raiser, then at 6pm, the local boys will battle once again against their US Virgin Islands rivals.
Technical Director for the TCIFA, Andrew Edwards, told NewslineTCI there is a sense of buoyance in the camp, and it is the hope that such mood would be displayed on the field.
Coach Edwards pointed out that the tournament forms part of the TCIFA 10-year strategic development plan, pointing out that the six matches are designed to gauge the early strides of the programme as to whether the early set goals are being met.
“Results, of course, have an important part to play, but more importantly, we are keen to see that there is progress through the training, and that the players are developing from the last time we would have had an opportunity to play internationally,” he said.
The TCIFA Technical Director stated that the tournament against the US Virgin Islands is just one of many such engagements that would be provided under the 10-year Strategic Development Plan, which started in 2020.
He said the tournament should put the spotlight on the girls more-so than the boys, as they are scheduled to engage in World Cup Qualifiers later this year. Even though qualifying for the World Cup this time around might be challenging, Coach Edwards said the girls are expected to make loud bangs on the door.
“Our intention is to continue to work with these young ladies, so come 2030, they will be able to contest the World Cup Qualifiers in a very serious intentional way,” Coach Edwards said.
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