Unable to be with his teammates in Antigua & Barbuda only because of duty with Ipswich Town, midfielder Carlos Edwards was overjoyed on Tuesday night as he received the news that this country sealed its spot in the 2013 Concacaf Gold Cup.
Edwards has never played in the region’s showcase event, missing out on injury in 2005 under Leo Beenhakker and then not being considered for the 2007 appearance. It seems very likely though that he will be included next July as it falls during the UK off season.
“I’m delighted for the team because we haven’t made it to the Gold Cup in so long and I was very happy to see that we accomplished something. The football has been going through a lot of hardship and the players came through this tournament with little to show for in terms of compensation,” Edwards said.
“Hopefully they will be rewarded and continue to improve as a team because now we have the chance to get a proper program in place and prepare well for these matches against the best teams in Concacaf.
This is like our World Cup now and we can really go there and gain some experience and show that we are trying to make some progress again in the football world,” added the ex-Wrexham and Defence Force player.