“THE nature of this tournament is not about winning and deciding who the champion is but it’s focused on the development of young players across the Region, including Guyana. The structure of the tournament is set to facilitate that,” said Bryan Joseph, head coach of the National U-14 Team that departed for Curacao last Wednesday to participate in the CFU 2018 Boys’ U-14 Challenge Series.

The squad, consisting of 17 players and four officials, will play their first match against Trinidad and Tobago today at the Ergilio Hata Stadium from 16:00hrs, having been placed in Group C along with Trinidad and Tobago, Aruba, Bonaire and Curacao.

According to Joseph, the current National U-14 Boys’ team will make up next year’s CONCACAF U-15 squad, adding that the Federation’s target is “to go out there and be competitive but, in the same vein, we want to ensure that development takes place. This group needs the experience. I don’t think any member from this group ever played outside of Guyana, in front of a huge crowd or packed stadium, so this tournament will seek to have them become acquainted with that. This group will be the core of our U-15 who will participate in the CONCACAF U-15 Championship in 2019, so this is the beginning of this process.”

Joseph said that while the preparation was not as thorough as that of the youth team last year, he is of the view that “Guyana is in a fairly good place because of the work done at the GFF-Scotiabank Academy Training Centres. Additionally, we have done some work with this group last year as part of the U-13 preparation. Following the first encampment period, we had a few training days and practice matches so the group came together nicely.”

Meanwhile, Technical Director, Ian Greenwood, said this tournament will serve as part of the development process for the 2026 World Cup campaign.

Following their first match, Guyana will play their second, third and fourth matches on August 8, 10 and 12 against Curacao, Bonaire and Aruba respectively. All matches will be held at the Ergilio Hato Stadium.