Under-20 Women s football team prepares for qualifiers

[Anguillan newsboy]

THE Barbados Under-20 Womens football team will be travelling to Havana, Cuba, on July 30, to participate in the Caribbean Football Union (CFU) Under-20 World Cup qualifiers from August 1-11. The 18 young ladies will make football history as they represent Barbados in this countrys first ever bid at a FIFA womens tournament. Between 2002 and 2004, CONCACAF staged two Under-19 tournaments with two qualifiers progressing from each event to the FIFA U-19 Womens World Championships in Canada and Thailand, respectively.
Two years later, the CONCACAF event was changed to a Womens U-20 tournament that featured three nations qualifying to the FIFA U-20 Womens World Cup Russia 2006. In 2008, three teams will once again qualify to the FIFA U-20 Womens World Cup as it will take place in Chile.
The teams Group C matches against Cuba, Antigua & Barbuda and Anguilla will be somewhat of a challenge as these teams already have other FIFA competitions under their belts. The senior team was defeated 1-0 by Antigua & Barbuda in the islands first international friendly on March 12 earlier this year. Anguilla visited Barbados in 2005 for a series of friendly games in which the home team dominated.
The Bajan team has been training for over a year and is currently in a day camp at the National Sports Council summer camp. The Barbados Under-20 Captain, Kamila Burke leads the squad, which includes Aaliyah Alleyne, Kerry Bascombe, Sabrina Bell, Jalisa Callender, Shonna Evelyn, Joelle Gibson, Tianna Hackette, Kyshona Knight, Kycia Knight, Gabriella Lopez, Aisha McCombie, Shaneka Nicholls, Lian Rock, Alyssa Yard, Soraya Toppin-Herbert, Shanice Stevenson, Shakira Rowe.
Team management staff includes Ytannia Wiggins, team manager; Sasha Sutherland, ***istant manager; Edward Smith, coach; ***istant coaches, Richard Forde and Sandra Jones; Susan Goodridge, medic; and Desmond Grant, trainer.