The Golden Jaguars U14 Boys and Girls team will not participate in the 2021 edition of the Caribbean Football Union (CFU) Challenge Series following the official confirmation of the host nation and venues.
This was disclosed by the regional entity on Tuesday via an official release. It informed that the Dominican Republic is the confirmed host for the 2021 Boys and Girls U14 Challenge Series, which is slated to run from August 22 to 29.
Efforts to contact Guyana Football Federation (GFF) General Secretary Ian Alves for a comment were unsuccessful. Calls to his cellular phone went unanswered up to press time. Similarly, attempts to acquire a comment from Communications Officer Keeran Williams were futile.
According to the press release, CFU President Randolph Harris was quoted as saying, “We are extremely pleased to present our developmental competitions this year. Football is returning in our region, and our members are keen to have their youngsters get back on the pitch.”
He went on, “This paves the way for the teams to be grouped within their skillset as the only consideration. In previous years, while this was primary, logistical and financial constraints associated with travel in the region forced a level of geographical placements. We are excited to introduce these youngsters to international competition and to see, in addition to crowning champions, the developmental agenda unfold.”
A total of 23 teams are scheduled to compete across both divisions which will be divided into two tiers. The Boys Tier-1 section of Group-A comprises Curacao, Dominican Republic, Grenada and Haiti, while Jamaica, Puerto Rico, St. Kitts & Nevis, and St. Lucia features in Group-B. Tier-2 features Aruba, Bonaire, Turks and Caicos Islands and United States Virgin Islands.
All boys who were eligible to compete last year before the postponement, may take part this year to avoid disenfranchisement. Meanwhile in the Girls division, Grenada, Dominican Republic, Haiti, Jamaica and Puerto Rico make up Tier-1. Tier-2 contains Aruba, Curacao, St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Lucia, Turks and Caicos Islands and US Virgin Islands.
Among the other major teams that will also not feature in the event are Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados, Belize, Cayman Islands, French Guiana, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Suriname and Trinidad and Tobago. The venues for the Boys division are the Felix Sanchez Olympic Stadium and Panamericano San Cristobal, with the Girls pool penciled to be staged at the Ashton School and Santa Fe Club.
CFU introduced the Challenge Series in 2018, starting with the boys’ tournament. The event is staged biannually but was postponed last year owing to the COVID-19 pandemic.
