MONTEGO BAY, Jamaica (CMC) – The ongoing CONCACAF Under-17 Boys’ Championship was thrown into a state of chaos, with the announcement overnight that Haiti had withdrawn from the competition. The Haitian Football Federation informed the regional governing body on Tuesday that it can no longer field a team in the competition.
This follows an illness, which media reports indicate is malaria, that has struck down members of the team.
The Haitians were expected to fly out of this ritzy north-coast resort town yesterday to return home.
Haiti lost 3-1 in the tournament opener against Costa Rica on Monday, and were scheduled to face El Salvador yesterday in the first match of a double-header at Jarrett Park.
As a result of their withdrawal, El Salvador will be awarded a 3-0 victory, and will showdown with Costa Rica tomorrow to determine the group winner.
Both Central Americans teams however, will also automatically qualify for the quarter-finals from Group-A, following the Haitian exit.
Due to the cancellation of the Haiti-El Salvador match, there was  only  one match yesterday between Panama and Cuba at Jarrett Park.
CONCACAF also announced yesterday that it has changed the venue of today’s matches from the Catherine Hall Stadium to Jarrett Park.
The move means that matches between Canada and Barbados, as well Guatemala and Trinidad & Tobago will be shifted across town.
The regional governing body indicated the reason for the move was to preserve the quality of the Catherine Hall field for the remainder of the competition, starting with the last round of group matches on Saturday.
The quarter-finals, semif-finals, consolation final, and Grand Final, which will be televised internationally, are also scheduled to be played at the Catherine Hall field.