Saint Lucia’s National Under-14 Girls Football Team has high expectations for the upcoming Caribbean Football Union (CFU) U-14 Challenge Series, set to kick off in Trinidad and Tobago, as the unit finalizes preparations for the contest.
Introduced in 2018, the CFU U-14 Challenge Series is a holistic developmental competition that caters to boys and girls in alternating years. It is the introduction to international competition for players. It aligns with the CFU’s developmental agenda and FIFA’s focus on further developing grassroots football in the region.
The Challenge Series is also pivotal to the CFU’s Next Generation Referee Course. It affords regional match officials with the requisite skills to advance to the FIFA International Refereeing Lists technical and practical training.
The series also trains match and venue coordinators.
On the home front , the U14 Girls squad and the technical unit has been going through the paces to get set for the upcoming female youth soccer challenge.
![[L-R] Team Captain Aria Andrew & Vice Captain Andrea Decarres](https://thevoiceslu.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/Aria-Andrew-Andrea-Decarres.jpg)
“While I expect some difficult encounters, my team will do its best and at the same time enjoy themselves,” she said.
Vice-captain Andrea Decarres, proudly wearing the title for the first time, shared her enthusiasm and belief in the team’s potential.Both leaders are determined to see Saint Lucia make a strong impression on the regional stage.
Head coach Felix St. Rose echoed their optimism, noting the competitive nature of the tournament.
Twenty-three national teams will compete in the two-tier competition, with Tier I featuring eight teams and Tier II 15.
Tier I will consist of two groups of four teams each. They are, Group A: Puerto Rico, Dominican Republic, Bermuda, Martinique and Group B: Aruba, Haiti, Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago.
The Tier I group stage will see teams compete in a round-robin format. At the end of the group stage, group winners and runners-up will advance to the semifinals and then to the Tier I finals, which will be played on 24 August 2024.
Third-place finishers will play one playoff match against each other to determine the 5th and 6th place ranking, and the fourth-place finishers will play one playoff match against each other to determine the 7th and 8th place ranking.
Tier II will have three groups consisting of 5 teams each. Group A: St. Kitts and Nevis, Dominica, Bonaire, US Virgin Islands, Saint Lucia.
Group B: Grenada, Barbados, British Virgin Islands, French Guiana, Suriname.
Group C: Cayman Islands, Anguilla, Antigua & Barbuda, Turks and Caicos Islands, Guyana.
Teams in each group will play each other once in a round-robin format, with the three group winners advancing to the Tier II semifinal. The second-place team with the highest number of points between the three groups will join the group winners in the Tier II semifinal.
The group winner with the highest number of points will face off against the best second-place team in the first semifinal, while the second and third-best group winners will compete in the second semifinal.
Tier II kicked off on August 15, while action in Tier I begins today (August , 16).