Costa Rica arrive today for U-17 tourney.
By: Jamaican Observer Newspapers.
Costa Rica's 29-member delegation is scheduled to arrive in Jamaica today for the CONCACAF Group B Under-17 Youth World Cup qualification tournament to be staged at the National Stadium from April 28 to May 6.
The Central Americans are expected to travel west on arrival to the mid-island parish of Manchester, where they plan to have a two-day pre-tournament camp in the parish capital of cool Mandeville.
They will then journey back east to Kingston on Thursday for their first game against Trinidad and Tobago at 5:00 pm on Saturday. Host Jamaica will begin their campaign against Canada on the same day at 7:00 pm.
Trinidad & Tobago will arrive tomorrow, while the USA and Canada are expected here on Thursday.
Five teams - Jamaica, Costa Rica, USA, Canada and Trinidad & Tobago - are seeking to capture three qualifying spots for the Under-17 World Cup in South Korea from August 18 to September 9.
From the Group A tournament played in Honduras earlier this month, the hosts and French-speaking Caribbean neighbours Haiti have advanced to South Korea. World champions Mexico were eliminated from this group. Jamaica are looking to repeat their qualification to the 1999 Under-17 World Cup which was held in New Zealand.
U-17 Boyz motivated at 'power luncheon'
By: By: Jamaican Observer Newspapers.
National Under-17 football captain Dever Orgill said the young Reggae Boyz have been preparing well for the CONCACAF final-round World Cup qualifiers, and the team is looking to even better things.
Speaking at a Milo-sponsored 'power luncheon' and motivational session for the youth team at the Alhambra Inn yesterday, Orgill said "the team will perform to the best of their ability and I know we'll get through what we're working for".
"From the games we played, no team has ever dominated us and... we know that this team is one of the best Under-17 teams that will ever work towards the qualifiers. We're looking towards better things than just to qualify for the World Cup," Orgill added.
As hosts, Jamaica will play the United States, Canada, Costa Rica and Trinidad & Tobago in the tournament that begins on Saturday at the National Stadium. At stake is one of three available spots to the FIFA World Cup later this year.
Guest speaker Dr Kingsley 'Ragashanti' Stewart told the youngsters to always fine-tune their preparations and maintain focus.
"Always be ready to give your best performance," Stewart said.
JFF president Crenston Boxhill, technical director Velibor Milutinovic and coach David Hunt were also at the function.