At a press briefing last Thursday (11) Cayman Islands Football Association Vice-President Bruce Blake, Sports Minister Osbourne Bodden, Tourism Minster Moses Kirkconnell and former sports minister Mark Scotland praised the hard work that had gone into preparing for the CONCACAF Under-15 Development Tournament to be played on Grand Cayman from 13-25 August.

There will be three venues for the tournament – Ed Bush Field, The Annex and the Truman Bodden Sports Complex.

The tournament comprises 23 teams from the Caribbean and Central America.  They will compete in the tournament to develop youth football.

The man behind the tournament is Caymanian Jeff Webb who is President of CONCACAF, which stands for Confederation of North, Central American and Caribbean Association Football.

Webb was able to use his influence and position to get the Cayman Islands Football Association (CIFA) to host the tournament.

There will be 800 players and officials coming to Grand Cayman, and the tournament is expected to attract 3,000 people.

Mark Scotland has appealed for volunteers and although 70 persons have committed they need 200 in many areas – IT, security, administrative support, ushers to name just a few.

Bruce Blake explained how the tournament would be played:

24 teams would play each other in four groups of six at the three venues but other pitches would be used for practice. The eventual winners of each group will move on to the semi-finals and the two winning teams will then meet in the final at the Truman Bodden Stadium.

Blake said that because Cayman is a small nation it faces issues with such a major tournament. He pointed to not enough coaches to ferry players and officials around and a shortage of ambulances.  “We will have to be resourceful” he said.

He also called for sponsors from the local economy to help CIFA offset some of the costs as some of venues needed upgrading. However, the bulk of the money for the contest will come from CONCACAF. Government has committed to spending approx. $200,000 on the upgrades but CIFA will have to contribute some of the costs.

Moses Kirkconnell said it was an investment for the future as it was government’s goal to partner with sports tourism and “there is not a better partnership than one that builds youth programmes”.

The Sports Minister pointed to the millions CONCACAF will spend in Cayman for the tournament. “Money spent by the guests,” he said, “and the ultimate showcasing of Cayman would have a massive multiplying impact, making the tournament worth more than $20 million for the domestic economy. It was a win win situation and would be great experience for local teams as well as for the tourism sector. It is pleasing to see the return of international football to Cayman and it will be a great stimulus for our players. We have some already on football scholarship overseas and this should generate more local interest.”