The Under 17 Boys National Football Team travel to Sunrise, Florida on Tuesday, July 12 for a final seven-day training camp in preparation for Group 2 of the Caribbean Football Union (CFU) Under 17 World Cup Qualifiers, which are scheduled for July 20 to July 24, 2016 at the Truman Bodden Sports Complex in Grand Cayman.

With the training camp funded exclusively by the Ministry of Community Affairs, Youth and Sports, the 24 players and six staff depart on Tuesday morning and will return on Monday, July 18, two days before the Cayman Islands play their first game of the CFU Under 17 tournament against Aruba on Wednesday, July 20.

The 24 players include Albertini Holness, Jayden Downey, Shawn Scott (from Cayman Brac), D’Andre Rowe, Rohelio Wright, Jose La Rosa-Ebanks, Francisco Murillo-Johnson, Devonte Morejon, Oladapo Bailey, Jabari Campbell, Gonzalo McLaughlin, Kion Parchmont, Jamaar Frederick, Kareem Foster, Rico Bodden, Trey Ebanks, Jalen Walters, Kameron Mendez, Corey Mellaneo, Alex Clarke-Ramirez, Daniel Manderson, Cody Ebanks, Jahrion Bodden, and
Javier Ardila.

Staff accompanying the players include Ernie “Gillie” Seymour, Head Coach; Ken Downey, Assistant Coach; Antwan Seymour, Assistant Coach and Manager; Luis Morejon, Goalkeeper Coach, Dr. Verley Campbell, Team Physician and Andrew Holness, Equipment Manager.

The team will be staying and training at the Sawgrass Grand Hotel & Suites in Sunrise, Florida, which operates a fully equipped, first class training facility adjacent to the hotel. The fields are located on site and include top level training space and a full size game field with spectator seating, a warm-up area and maintenance and storage area. Staffing, goals, training aids and equipment are provided to all teams using the facility. Games can be arranged with club teams in the surrounding area. The hotel provides first class accommodations with customized team meal planning and meeting services.

The squad of 24 will undergo an intense seven days of physical and tactical training as the coaching staff will be using this final training camp to select the final 20 players that will represent the Cayman Islands at the Under 17 World Cup Qualifiers.

Former Jamaican and Cayman Islands national coach Carl Brown, who resides in nearby Fort Lauderdale, has arranged a number of practice games with club teams in the Fort Lauderdale and Sunrise areas for the Under 17 National Team to play against during the course of the week.

Commenting on preparations so far, Head Coach Ernie Seymour said, “We have been working on improving aspects of the players’ games, fitness and tactics for the past few months and we will continue to push the players over the course of this week while in Florida. We want to simulate as best we can what the players will experience during the tournament, such as playing on Wednesday evening then resting on Thursday, playing on Friday evening, resting on Saturday and playing on Sunday evening and resting on Monday. The rest days will not be full rest days for the players as we will be doing some additional work on those days.”

Along with regular training sessions sometimes twice per day, preparations so far have included a five-day training camp during the Easter school break in March at the Annex Field, practice games against the visiting Under 15 academy teams from DC United and Orlando SC that participated in the recent Cayman Airways Invitational Youth Tournament in May, practice games against the Under 20 National Team that recently competed in the CFU Under 20 World Cup Qualifiers in Haiti, and a three-day training camp in Cayman Brac in June.

During the Under 17 tournament, the Cayman team will play Aruba at 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday, July 20, Puerto Rico at 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday, July 22, and Haiti at 7:30 p.m. on Sunday, July 24.

Winners from the first round of the CFU Under 17 World Cup Qualifiers will advance to the final round of the CFU Under 17 World Cup Qualifiers scheduled for September 18 to September 25, 2016, with a chance to qualify for the CONCACAF Under 17 World Cup Qualifiers in February 2017. Four countries from CONCACAF will qualify for the 17th edition of the FIFA Under 17 World Cup Finals to be played in India in September and October 2017.

All sports enthusiasts are encouraged to come out to the Truman Bodden Sports Complex and support our Under 17 National Team as they battle for a place in the final round of the CFU Under 17 World Cup Qualifiers. The motto for the Cayman Islands team during the qualifiers is “Support our Nation”.

For further information on the CFU Under 17 World Cup Qualifiers and how you can assist with the tournament, please contact Neil Murray at 925-8793 or via e-mail at L- [email protected].

Photo: The Cayman Islands Under 17 National Football Team prior to their practice game with Cayman Brac FC during their training camp in Cayman Brac in June.