CI teen footballers take on visitors from Honduras

(NU15s): In preparation for the upcoming CONCACAF Under 15 Championships in August, the Cayman Islands Under 15 National Football Team will play two exhibition games against the Under 15s from Club Deportivo Victoria (CD Victoria) from La Ceiba, Honduras on Saturday, July 6, at 7:00 p.m. and Sunday July 7, at 6:00 p.m. at the T.E. McField Field (Annex Field) in George Town. Cost per game is $6.00 and for both games is $10.00.  As is the norm with clubs from Central America, CD Victoria is steeped in tradition. Often overshadowed by city rivals CD Vida, CD Victoria celebrates78 years of existence this year.

The club was founded by a Hungarian and started out as the Instituto Manuel Bonilla, which later was renamed CD Victoria. In 1947, CD Victoria won their first national tournament beating Motagua 3-2. In 1995, the club won their first Liga Nacional championship in 47 years by defeating CD Olimpia in a two-legged final.

Technical Director, Arden Rivers and his coaching staff, comprising Dion Brandon, Michael Johnson, Vincent Mitchell and Alexis Reve, have been putting the local boys through their paces during the past five weeks. Now able to train three times per week, a set pattern of play and intensity has begun to take shape.

Rivers and his staff have carefully gathered this squad of players following several scouting exercises during the recently completed CIFA Under 15 League. The squad boasts players from many of the clubs across the Island including Cayman Athletic SC, Academy SC, Bodden Town FC, Future SC, Sunset FC and Scholars International.

Commenting on the upcoming games, Rivers said, “The coaching staff and players are really looking forward to CD Victoria’s visit. Following the visit of CD Vida’s Under 17 team in 2012, we experienced first-hand how Honduran youth teams play. Their speed, physicality and skill will present a few challenges for our local boys,but with these and other practice games, we are not focusing on final scores but more on how our boys perform. Experience is something you cannot teach on the practice field and these games will tell us how far we have come and what we need to focus on leading up to the tournament in August. We encourage the Cayman community to come out and support our youngsters.”

CIFA’s 1st Vice President Bruce Blake added, “The Under 15 National Programme is the first phase of the rebranding of our national youth football programmes. We congratulate the staff and players for their commitment and professionalism over the past weeks. We encourage the public to stop by the training sessions on Monday, Wednesday and Friday evenings at the Annex Field beginning at 4:00 p.m. to observe our youngsters in action and familiarize themselves with the players. CIFA encourages potential corporate sponsors of this programme to get on board as the team prepares for the CONCACAF Under 15 Championships in August.”

The Under 15 team has been put together specifically to compete in the inaugural CONCACAF Under 15 Championships, which will take place in the Cayman Islands between August 14 and August 25 of this year.