SAINT Lucia is among regional states keen on participating in the 2024 Concacaf Girls’ U-15 Championship, scheduled to take place from August 5 to 11.
Concacaf, this week, announced that three Member Associations, Costa Rica, Trinidad and Tobago, and Aruba, will host the fifth edition of the competition that will include group and knockout stage play in a three-league system: A, B, and C.
Team Saint Lucia has been busy preparing its young female players for the competition. The training sessions are held at the SLFA Inc. Technical Centre, in Grande Riviere Dennery.
Overseeing the team is Francis Mc. Donald, Minerva Charles, Shenelle St. Louis and Della Ashby.
“We are very excited to host the fifth edition of the Concacaf Girls’ U-15 Championship in three fantastic countries. This competition plays a big role in developing the region’s most talented young football players as they compete for a continental title,” said Concacaf General Secretary Philippe Moggio.
“We look forward to working closely with the federations of Aruba, Costa Rica and Trinidad and Tobago to ensure the participating teams and fans have a great experience,” added Moggio.
The competition’s matches will be split between the three countries; the Central American nation will host all League A matches, while Leagues B and C will play in Trinidad and Tobago and Aruba, respectively.
All three leagues will include a group stage and a direct elimination knockout stage, and each will crown its champion. The number of teams per league will be determined based on the Concacaf Women’s U-17 Rankings of March 2024 and the final number of participants.
To date, 35 Concacaf Member Associations have expressed interest in participating. These Member Associations are (in alphabetical order): Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, Aruba, Barbados, Belize, Bermuda, Bonaire, British Virgin Islands, Canada, Cayman Islands, Costa Rica, Cuba, Curaçao, Dominica, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, French Guiana, Grenada, Guadeloupe, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, Jamaica, Martinique, Mexico, Nicaragua, Puerto Rico, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Suriname, Trinidad and Tobago, Turks and Caicos Islands, United States, and the US Virgin Islands.
The last edition of the Concacaf Girls’ U-15 Championship took place in 2022 in Tampa, Florida.
Twenty teams participated with the USA winning League A and Nicaragua winning League B. – R.A.