There will be a new and exciting youth football tournament on the calendar for sports fans across Trinidad and Tobago this month. For many years, the Secondary Schools Football League (SSFL) has been duly considered the breeding ground of the nation’s young football stars of the future. The Next Level Consulting Limited U19 Community Invitational Tournament kicks off on 21 December and seeks to build upon that youth football landscape by providing another platform for our nation’s youths to play, to develop and to be scouted and/or recruited for the next stage of their football careers.
Starting 21 December, communities island-wide will be keenly represented by their talented young footballers in the TTFA sanctioned NLCL U19 tournament. Academies, youth Pro League, SSFL and community teams will be vying for the highly coveted 2019-20 Next Level Consulting Limited Under 19 Community Challenge trophy. A total of 11 teams from Port of Spain to Guayaguayare and Sangre Grande to Point Fortin will battle in a home and away format in this new league tournament.
The tournament, which will feature late evening and afternoon games, will have two groups: a North/East group and a South/Central group. Teams will play two games each week. The North/East group will comprise Trendsetter Hawks, Fatima College, MaGauya United (Mayaro), SP Boyz FC (Manzanilla/Sangre Grande) and Hearts of Maloney. The South/Central group will showcase Mascall Coaching School (Moruga), Point Fortin Civic, D.C.S./Dass Trace (La Brea and Enterprise combination), Gasparillo Youths, Princes Town Achievers and All Blacks F.C. (Fyzabad).
The brainchild of tournament chair Brian Jordan, owner of security company Next Level Consulting Limited, the tournament is ably supported by an organising committee comprised of co-owner and public relations officer Mrs Germaine Jordan and team liaison Ms Sandra Pompey of Gasparillo Youths. The organisers are also thankful for valued sponsors Ramlogan & Sons Sports (Couva and Marabella), Ramsingh Sports and the Maritime Financial Group.
Mr Jordan stated: “Football fans will be super excited to see their sons, grandsons, brothers, nephews, cousins, and neighbours run out and represent their communities in this tournament. Many well-known SSFL stars will be coming up against other players of very high quality, and many of whom they would not have faced during their school season in this tournament.”
He added: “We will work our tails off to ensure Tobago is represented similarly in the tournament next year.”
The NLCL U19 community tournament expects supporters to come out in their numbers to root for their respective teams. Additionally, many seasonal visitors and residents coming for the holidays and for Carnival will find the tournament another enjoyable option for spending their time as they take in a game or two.
Tournament organisers have invited and expect scouts from various universities and professional teams, locally and abroad, to attend tournament games to recruit from the available talent. They have also partnered with the very popular Talk Yuh Mind social media video content providers to cover feature games throughout the season.
Next Level Consulting Limited feels very strongly that this tournament can help to develop our young footballers and keep our youth off the streets, gainfully engaged in a sport they love and away from the criminal element.
For more information, or to support the Next Level Consulting Limited U19 community invitational tournament, call or WhatsApp (868) 389-0516 or (868) 495-8302.