Four teams ready for 2015 Men s Olympic Qualifiers Final Round

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1 JUNE 2015, VOLUME 3, ISSUE 6, CARIBBEAN FOOTBALL UNION NEWSLETTER ARTICLES 2 Puerto Rico first team in Final Round of 2015 CFU Women s U20 3 Five Caribbean teams advance to third stage of the 2018 FIFA World Cup Qualifiers 4 Groupings for the Scotiabank CONCACAF Champions League 5 Caribbean quartet sharpens up for Gold Cup foray 6 Sudesh Singh new St Maarten Soccer President 7 Paulette Riley first Assistant Referee to represent Jamaica at World Cup 8 Anthony Alexander an exceptional young man in Grenada Four teams ready for 2015 Men s Olympic Qualifiers Final Round H aiti, Cuba, Jamaica and St Vincent and the Grenadines have topped Groups 1, 2, 3, and 4 respectively in the preliminary stages of the 2015 Caribbean Zone Group stage of the Men s Olympic Qualifiers which started on June 24. Haiti and Cuba topped their group with maximum nine points from three games, Jamaica did so with maximum six points from two games while St Vincent and the Grenadines earned four points from two games. These four teams will advance to the Final Round which is set to be staged onaugust and the host will be decided on from within the four qualified teams. The top two teams from the Final Round will qualify for the CONCACAF Olympic Championship. During the preliminary rounds in Group 1, Haiti defeated Barbados 2-0, the Cayman Islands 4-0 and St Kitts & Nevis 3-1 in Haiti. In Group 2, Cuba turned back Guyana 2-0, Aruba 11-1 and Antigua & Barbuda 3-2, in Antigua & Barbuda. Jamaica stopped St Lucia 6-1 and Dominican Republic 4-0, in Group 3 played in the Dominican Republic while St Vincent and the Grenadines drew 2-2 with Puerto Rico and defeated Trinidad & Tobago 5-3 in Group 4 staged in Puerto Rico. This zonal qualifying tournament has an age limit of Under 23 for men born on or after January 1, Two teams will advance to compete in the Confederation of North Central America and Caribbean Association Football (CONCACAF) Men s Olympic Tournament set to be hosted by the United States in 2016.

2 Puerto Rico first team in Final Round of 2015 CFU Women s U20 Puerto Rico topped Group 1 of the 2015 Caribbean Football Union (CFU) Women s Under-20 Qualifiers with maximum nine points from three games to advance to the Final Round scheduled to take place in Haiti, in October of this year. Puerto Rico defeated Antigua & Barbuda 3-1, Anguilla 8-0 and Curacao 5-0, all games were played at the Juan Ramon Loubriel Stadium, in Puerto Rico. Curacao was placed second after beating Antigua & Barbuda 2-0 and sharing the points with Anguilla after a 1-1 draw in their encounter. Antigua & Barbuda and Anguilla finished with a point each. Games in Group 2 are scheduled to start on July 26 in St Lucia. Puerto Rico National Women s Under 20 squad Group 3 begins on July 26 as well and three teams will contest this group namely Bermuda, St Kitts and Nevis and the Dominican Republic. In Group 4 which is also scheduled to start on July 26. The teams are St Vincent and the Grenadines, Trinidad and Tobago and Dominica. The Final Round will be divided into two Groups A and B, the semi-finals will be played on October 13 and the final on October 25. Three teams will contest this group the teams are St Lucia, Grenada and Jamaica. 2

3 Five Caribbean teams advance to third stage of the 2018 FIFA World Cup Qualifiers Five of the fifteen Caribbean region teams that competed in the Second Round of the Road to Russia 2018 World Cup Qualifications which started on June 7, have earned the right to move on. The teams are: Grenada, Aruba, Antigua & Barbuda, Curacao and St Vincent and the Grenadines. These teams turned back their opponents on aggregate after playing home and away games against each other. St Vincent and the Grenadines drew 2-2 with Guyana at home and 4-4 away, Antigua & Barbuda lost to St Lucia 3-1 at home and won the return leg 4-1 in St Lucia, Curacao drew 0-0 with Cuba at home and 1-1 away in Cuba and Grenada lost 1-0 to Puerto Rico in Puerto Rico but won 2-0 in the return leg played in Grenada. Aruba who lost both games to Barbados advance to the next round because of an error by the Barbados Football Association (BFA) who were sanctioned by FIFA for fielding an ineligible player in the preliminary competition match, on 14 June, 2015 at the Usain Bolt Sports Complex in Barbados. The particulars are that the FIFA Disciplinary Committee referred to the wording of art. 55 of the FDC which sets a clear sanction for any breach of eligibility rules. The sanction relates to the Barbadian player Hadan Holligan who failed to serve the automatic one match suspension imposed on him following two cautions received in two different matches (art. 17 par. 3 of the FDC). The sanction was made with immediate effect and as a consequence Aruba will now qualify for the next round of the 2018 FIFA World Cup Russia qualifiers. These five teams along with the four teams from UNCAF Belize, Nicaragua, Guatemala and El Salvador and Canada from North America will start their battles in the Third Round against tougher teams in the CONCACAF region August 31 to September 8. The Senior Men s World Cup Final is a FIFA s flagship event which was first staged in The inaugural edition, was staged in Uruguay and was contested as a final tournament with thirteen teams invited by the organization to compete in the showpiece event. To date only four teams form the Caribbean have made it to the World Cup Finals stage. They teams are Haiti, Cuba, Jamaica and Trinidad & Tobago. The current champions are Germany, who won the World Cup at the last staging of the competition held in Brazil between June and July,

4 Groupings for the Scotiabank CONCACAF Champions League The group draws for the teams contesting the Confederation of North, Central America and Caribbean Association Football (CONCACAF) 2015/16 Scotiabank CONCACAF Champions League (SCCL) was conducted on Monday June 1, at the New World Symphony Center in Miami, sorting the twenty-four participating clubs into eight groups of three for the eighth edition of the continental championship in its current format. Montego Bay United Football Team Direct TV WConnection Football team Three teams from the Caribbean Football Union (CFU) are among contestants of this competition and were drawn in Group A, D and H. The teams are DirectTV WConnection FC and Central FC from Trinidad & Tobago and Montego Bay United from Jamaica in the same order. During the qualification process played between April fourteen teams from the Caribbean were put to the test in four groups in four countries with the winner of each group advancing to the Final Round. When the dust was settled after three days of intense football action Central FC capped Group 1, DirectTV WConnection FC topped Group 2, Montego Bay United took the honours for Group 3 and Don Bosco Football Club did likewise for Group four. On May the teams met in Trinidad and Tobago at the Ato Boldon Stadium in a ding dong battle for the championship and a place in the CONCACAF Scotiabank Champions League competition. During the semi-finals Don Bosco FC was defeated 3-1 by Central FC while DirectTV WConnection FC edged out Montego Bay United 1-0 in their encounter. At the finals Central FC defeated DirectTV WConnection FC 2-1 and Montego Bay United took the third place by clipping Don Bosco 1-0. The groups in the same order of position drawn, are as follows: Group A: DirectTV W Connection (Trinidad & Tobago), Deportivo Saprissa (Costa Rica), Santos Laguna (Mexico) Central Football Club team Group B: Isidro Metapán (El Salvador), CS Herediano (Costa Rica), Tigres (Mexico) Group C: Verdes FC (Belize), San Francisco FC (Panama), Queretaro FC (Mexico) Group D: Central FC (Trinidad & Tobago), CSD Comunicaciones (Guatemala), LA Galaxy (USA) Group E: CD Walter Ferretti (Nicaragua), CD Motagua (Honduras), Club America (Mexico) Group F: Vancouver Whitecaps FC (Canada), CD Olimpia (Honduras), Seattle Sounders FC (USA) Group G: Santa Tecla FC (El Salvador), CSD Municipal (Guatemala), Real Salt Lake (USA) Group H: Montego Bay United (Jamaica), Arabe Unido (Panama), D.C. United (USA) The groups will be contested on a round-robin, home-andaway, four-game format, running from August October. Only the eight first-place teams will progress to the quarterfinals, which will kick-off in early The full schedule for the group stage will be announced in the coming weeks. 4

5 Caribbean quartet sharpens up for Gold Cup foray F our Caribbean teams are now in Gold Cup mode as they prepare to face the might of eight other regional CONCACAF powerhouses in the 2015 CONCACAF edition of the competition which kicks off on July 7 and climaxes on July 26 in the United States. Cuba Senior MCC Team The CONCACAF Gold Cup, the Confederation s premier football tournament for its members, is staged biennially. It initially involved just eight teams but has since evolved into a 12-team contest involving qualification from each of CONCACAF s three sub-regions of North America (three automatic entrants), Central America (Central American Cup) and the Caribbean (Caribbean Cup). The Caribbean nations set to take part in this year s competition are Cuba, Haiti, Jamaica and Trinidad & Tobago. The quartet qualified for the prestigious event after copping the top four spots in the Finals of the 2014 Caribbean Football Union (CFU) Caribbean Cup last November in Jamaica. Haiti Senior M CC Team In the 12-team shootout comprising of three groups, Haiti is drawn in Group A alongside USA, Panama and Honduras. Jamaica are set to do battle in Group B against the highflying Costa Rica, El Salvador and Canada, while in Group C, Caribbean sides Cuba and Trinidad & Tobago will lock horns with CONCACAF kingpins Mexico and Guatemala. This year s Cup marks the 13th edition of the CONCACAF flagship competition, and the 23rd CONCACAF regional championship overall in the Confederation s 50 years of existence. Jamaica Senior Men s team Meanwhile, for the first time since 2003, the Gold Cup will include a consolation match. Two games will also be played in Canada, making it the first time the Gold Cup is played in that country. The 2015 CONCACAF Gold Cup winners will qualify for a single play-off match at a venue to be decided against defending champions United States to decide the CONCACAF representative to the 2017 FIFA Confederations Cup. Should the United States win the 2015 tournament, they will qualify automatically to the Confederations Cup. In addition, Trinidad & Tobago Senior Men s team 5 Cont d page 6

6 GOLD CUP...cont d the top four teams, excluding those that have qualified before the tournament, namely the United States, Mexico, Costa Rica (winners of the 2014 Copa Centro-Americana), and Jamaica (winners of the CFU 2014 Caribbean Cup), will qualify for the play-offs to select the final two berths for the Copa América Centenario. In the case where the champion of the 2015 CONCACAF Gold Cup is not one of the already qualified teams, they will progress directly to the 2016 Copa América Centenario. The Gold Cup event has reached remarkable levels of popularity, routinely drawing capacity crowds and millions of TV viewers throughout the world. Mexico owns a tournament-record six titles, followed by the United States with five and Canada with one. The USA captured the inaugural championship in 1991, outlasting Honduras in the final 4-3 on penalty kicks after a scoreless draw. In 2013, the Gold Cup was played in thirteen stadiums across the entire United States. Sudesh Singh new St Maarten Soccer President Sudesh Singh is the new President of the St Maarten Soccer Association (SMSA) after being elected at an Annual General Meeting held at the Carl and Sons Hotel in Cole Bay, St Maarten recently. CONCACAF s Delegate Marco Leal presided over the proceedings as Singh took over from interim President Nickie Owen. Photo of New St Maarten Exco Members : From left to right Dwain Wright, Stanley York, Sudesh Singh, Danae Daal, Norris Richards & Natasha Wright, missing is Orin Allen Other elected members of the new executive body are: Vice President Norris Richards, General Secretary Danae Daal, Treasurer Dwain Wright, Assistant Treasurer Natasha Wright, Assistant Secretary/Commissioner Orin Allen and Commissioner Stanley York. In a note to the Caribbean Football Union Secretariat, Singh said: On behalf of the new board of the St Maarten Soccer Association, we hereby thank you for accepting this new board and we are looking forward for a fruitful relationship in which we can stimulate and promote football in the widest sense in St Maarten and the Caribbean President of the Caribbean Football Union (CFU) Gordon Derrick offered congratulations and welcomed the newly elected President and his new executive body to the CFU family. Plans for an early meeting is being considered to discuss development of the sport in St. Maarten. Gordon Derrick, CFU President St Maarten is an affiliate of the Caribbean Football Union and CONCACAF. It forms part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands and is located on the southern part of the Caribbean. Its natural landscapes span lagoons, beaches and salt pans, while the capital, Philipsburg, has cobblestone streets and colourful, colonial-style buildings lining its Front Street shopping area. St Maarten s port is a popular cruise-ship destination. 6

7 Paulette Riley first Assistant Referee to represent Jamaica at World Cup Institute of Sports (INSPORTS) Sports Officer and Former FIFA Referee Assistant, Paulette Riley, was the first female official from Jamaica to officiate at a FIFA Women s World Cup in 2004, at the Rajamangala Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand. Former Assistant Referee Paulette Riley (left) flanked by her team-mates Riley, affectionately called Calaloo, officiated in six games on that historic occasion, including the grand finale witnessed by thousands of spectators. The Jamaican became an Assistant Referee in 1998 under the thorough training of former referees Wayne Brown and Winston Dirks Campbell (now deceased). Her performance was outstanding, and she was selected to the FIFA list in 2002 until She is still an active Referee Assistant locally. Riley, now forty-six years old, is a former defender for Border Patrol Football Club Women s team (now defunct). She was also involved in other sporting disciplines such as volleyball, netball and track and field for her alma mater, Vere Technical High School. The unassuming Riley was born in Kingston and attended Mona Secondary School before switching to Vere Technical, then venturing into the working world. In an exclusive interview with the CFU BEACON, Riley cited former FIFA Referee Peter Prendergast as her role model. Apart from my trainers I have high regard and respect for former FIFA Referee Peter Prendergast. I always look forward to working with him at the games. His performance on the pitch was outstanding. Officiating was a part of him; he was a perfect gentleman, unbending, swift, physically fit, always on top of his game and well respected by the players. Assisting Prendergast was a special treat for me as I learnt from him whenever I was on his team in the games, she asserted. Prendergast was and still is very passionate about refereeing and is never too busy to share and impart his knowledge of the game with other referees. He is an outstanding person and I would encourage other women to take up this profession because there are many good opportunities for them to travel and interact with other officials,... 7 will always remain in my mind as the best referee I have ever worked alongside since becoming an Assistant Referee, Riley added. I still act in the capacity of referee at local games and I have plans to work as a Referee Assessor or a Fitness Trainer for referees as a means of giving back to the profession. It was tough when I started out as an Assistant Referee here in Jamaica. I had to earn my way through heckling, jeering and sometimes confrontations. However, all of this worked in my favour and made me a better Referee Assistant. In a nutshell it prepared me for my international experiences, she stated. According to Riley, she has travelled and officiated in seventeen different countries during her tenure as a FIFA Referee Assistant. She says she enjoyed working alongside other ladies from the different countries and had some fond memories. Reminiscing on her first FIFA World Cup game, Riley said: It was exciting working with these ladies in my debut FIFA game, but there was nothing significant about the game except that it was a fast-paced game with some very tall ladies. I officiated in six games during the tournament. The worst game I think I have ever done was putting up the flag for an off-side call which was incorrect and being blasted by the spectators. The team ended up winning the game and I breathed a sigh of relief. This happens to the best of us in the heat of the game. The best game I think I ever did was a Women s U-20 World Cup game in Russia. The game was so perfect the Match Commissioner and the Referee Assessor Cont d page 8

8 REF RILEY...cont d openly commended the group and I was asked to do the finals. I was very pleased with myself. And as to being a female working in a man s world? Riley admits that at first the men were not so accommodating, and the women therefore had to work hard, with the acceptance naturally following. The fact of the matter is it s a man s world and you have to be on par with them officiating at a high standard for them to feel comfortable with you as their assistant. I believe that the number of female referees will continue to climb because they take their games seriously. Female referees have come a long way with an increase in numbers over the years, she opined. More ladies have performed significantly well in the games and have earned places at the international level. I would encourage other women to take up this profession because there are many good opportunities for them to travel and interact with other officials, learning the different cultures and languages and socializing as well. She added: I have enjoyed being a referee; I would never trade this experience for anything else. I have enjoyed it so much and if I should live my life again it would still be a part of my life. In my opinion the Referee Instructors, Assessors and Trainers are doing a great job keeping up to standard with the training which is coming straight from FIFA. They are identifying the potential in the females and working with them to improve on it. Some changes and improvement that I would like to see in this region would be the inclusion of the subject of refereeing in the school s curriculum as this would open up the understanding of the rules and laws of the game so that when referees make calls and decisions during games they would understand the decisions clearly instead of blaming them for being unfair or lenient to other teams. This, I think, would make a significant difference, not just within the region, but globally. Anthony Alexander an exceptional young man in Grenada Anthony Alexander is an exceptional young man who was born on September 27, He is a resident of the Mt. Moritz community in Grenada and the son of Sheldon Alexander and Marielle Robinson Farrah- Alexander, a couple whose commitment to their children s future is well known and documented. Mt. Moritz, is a village in St. George North West, of Grenada, in the past it had a football team participating in the Grenada Football Association domestic competitions but that has since gone extinct. Anthony started playing football at the tender age of three years at the Andre Patterson Soccer Academy in Lance Aux Epines, an area not known to have produced any recent national sportsmen. Though he is still enrolled in that soccer academy, he also attends his uncle s soccer academy in Mt. Moritz. Despite no claim to fame the area was known for its more affluent population Anthony Alexander Grenada s Neymar in the south of the island, Sheldon and his wife continued to ply the route in pursuit of their son s dreams of one day becoming a Grenadian football star. After a few years plying the south of the island every Sunday morning, Gerald Bubbles Alexander, brother of Sheldon 8 Cont d page 9

9 ALEXANDER...cont d decided to open his own soccer academy in Mt. Moritz called Greenz OK Soccer Academy and immediately Anthony and many other residents from the area joined. From very early age Anthony showed talent and potential of becoming a future star in the sport. This kid is beyond the average Joe Blow said Coach Gerald Alexander, describing his little nephew who is now a regular player at his football academy. Anthony is also a remarkable student of the Westmoreland Primary School placing tenth (10th) overall in the recent CPEA exams and scoring a perfect score in Mathematics and 94.4% overall in his exams. Throughout his school life he has always been in the top three of his class academically. MCT exams Grade 4, 2013, he was given a certificate by the government for his outstanding performance. In the CPEA exams in 2015 he was placed 18th, with his score being the 10th highest in the island (there were many ties hence the position). He has attained his first choice, the PBC and is anxiously awaiting the new school term where he will trade his original uniforms for a white shirt and green pants identifying him as a student of the same school where many of Grenada s scholars including former Grenada Prime Ministers got their secondary school education. At his recent graduation Anthony was awarded the Supervisor s Award Trophy for Most Outstanding Student overall in areas such as academics, school involvement, discipline and athletics. Anthony is anxious about his future not only as a player but academically as well and is rearing for when his new school, the Presentation Brothers College (PBC) opens its doors in September. He is successful in almost everything he does, he is a hardworking, loving and positive fellow who sees the best in everyone and shows positive indicators in academics and football (soccer).his father is hoping that he will play football somewhere in Europe in the future as well as securing a University scholarship in the next five years and continue his dream of becoming one of the best Caribbean footballers of his generation. The energetic Anthony has had his fair share of exposure having previously attended the Barcelona Soccer Academy in Miami and receiving positive reviews from the coaches there. He is was even featured on national television doing commercials for one of the major milk brands on the island. Anthony credits his older brother for inspiring him to love the game of football. He became very interested and eager to play the game and quickly started to shine at an early age while watching football matches on TV strengthening his passion with a dream to become one of the stars one day. His favourite player he confidently says is Neymar. Uncle Bubbles always makes sure he gets his requested Neymar hairstyle and no one can deny him of his desired look of his favourite player. His preferred positions on the field are a striker and a midfielder, and he feels confident he can play well in both positions. Talking about his accolades, the young idol of Brazilian Neymar has already captained Westmorland Junior football team. He led his team to win the Private School Tournament 2015 as well as the inaugural GFA Beach Soccer Private Primary School competition in April 2015 during which he also won MVP. In 2014 he won the MVP award for his age group in the GFA St. George s league and was also identified by National Senior Men s Team Coach, Anthony Modeste as a player for the future. In 2014 when the FC Barcelona Academy was opened in Florida, due to his outstanding performance at the summer camp he was chosen to attend the academy without trials. When asked where would he see himself in ten years Anthony confidently replied with no uncertainty or doubt, by the time I reach sixteen I will be leaving Grenada to go and play football professionally in Europe and represent my country at the national level. Why do you really like the game he was asked I love team sport, the adrenaline rush of beating through players on the field, scoring and assisting goals, he said. The best feeling is giving it your all on the field. I eat, sleep, and breathe football. I sleep with my football I Love the game. I see it as a way of providing the best for my family. I d like to give them everything they ever dreamed of having and more said the eloquent resident who is now calling Lance Aux Epines his home. The Grenada Football Association Members wishes Anthony and all other young footballers both male and female all the best in the years ahead as the Association seek to produce more scholastic home grown footballers with well-rounded personalities. 9

10 For further information please contact the CFU General Secretariat, Communications Department The Towers - 10th Floor 25 Dominica Drive, Kingston 5. Jamaica Tel: +1(876) / 4657 Fax: +1(876) media@cfufootball.org, info@cfufootball.org 10