With the Covid-19 pandemic showing no signs of abating, the Caribbean Football Union (CFU), the region’s local governing body and a subsidiary of CONCACAF, has opted to suspend the 2020 boys U14 Challenge Series scheduled for August until further notice.
This was revealed following an official monthly newsletter published on the entity’s website.
According to a monthly newsletter published on the entity’s website, which was published in May, the decision to suspend the tournament was taken following an Executive Committee meeting.
“The situation with Covid-19 in the Caribbean remains uncertain. Meantime, the health and welfare of everyone in the football fraternity is the priority of the Caribbean Football Union (CFU), “ the newsletter stated.
At the Executive Committee Meeting of May 14, 2020, it was stated that the Competitions Department will continue to monitor the situation and will remain in contact with Member Associations and other partners and stakeholders to determine the competitions schedule once the all-clear is given for the safe resumption of the sport.
The Guyana Football Federation (GFF) is yet to comment on CFU’s decision to spend the competition.
Guyana featured in the 2018 edition of the championship and ended the event in third position with a record of two wins and as many losses. The Golden Jaguars lost 8-0 to powerhouse Trinidad and Tobago in their opening match before going down to hosts Curacao 4-0 in the second match. They would end their group-C campaign on a high note with wins over minnows Bonaire and Aruba. The Guyanese defeated Bonaire 5-1 in their third match before brushing aside Aruba 4-1 in their final match. The decision by CFU follows the recent decisions of parent body CONCACAF to suspend several youth championships.
The competitive fallout from the current Covid-19 pandemic has forced CONCACAF to announce the suspension of four tournaments. They are the Girls U15 and the Girls U17 Championship respectively as well as the Men’s U17 Qualifiers and the Men’s U20 Championships.
No date has been released or issued by CONCACAF for a possible staging of the aforementioned events. The Lady Jaguars were set to participate in the U17 tournament initially programmed for April 18th-May 3rd in Toluca, Mexico.
