Front Row: Malachi Gumbs, Jared Smeins, Dalek Moore, Keronni Vanterpool, Grallym Richardson, Micah Brooks,
Kevoy Hawley, Kevin Paul and D’Karai Browne.
On Monday 29 August the Anguilla Football Association held a press conference to announce the National Men’s U17 Team scheduled to participate in the CONCACAF Under 17 Qualifiers, to be held in Tampa, Florida. Anguilla is scheduled to play their matches from September 2 – September 8 at the IMG Academy.
Opening the press conference, Vice President of the Anguilla Football Association, Mr. Kevin Hawley, noted: “The Anguilla Football Association takes great pride in participating in premier youth tournaments each year, as it provides an opportunity or opportunities for exposure, further development and success.”
The Team comprises 20 players: Goalkeepers: Micah Brooks, Grallym Richardson, Keronni Vanterpool; Defenders: D’Karai Browne, Delani Francis, Malachi Gumbs, Fidel Lim-Brooks, J’quan Parker, Aidin Richardson; Midfielders: Keante Brooks, Rochard Grant, Kevoy Hawley, Dalek Moore, Jo’Quan Richardson, Hakim Rogers, Jared Smeins, Jahiem Thompson; Strikers: Timarqus Connor, Kevin Paul, J’quan Samuels.
Furthermore, Executive Members travelling with the team include: Team Manager, Malone Richardson; Head Coach, Mr. Andre Griffith; Assistant Coach, Kareem Burris; Equipment Manager, Leon Jeffers; and Physio, Janae Guishard.
Speaking about the preparation and readiness of the team, Assistant Coach, Kareem Burris, stated: “we have had several practice matches, with Turks & Caicos, St. Martin and locally and in all competitions we have done very well. We have beefed up the team, by giving them more fitness, getting them match ready…giving them enough practice matches as possible to get them match fit. Going forward, we have entered into this tournament, and we do expect good things…We have players with imaginable talent, and once we give them the right strategies to go out there, to face all these competitions, we expect great results.”
Echoing his sentiments, Technical Director of the Anguilla Football Association, Mr. Colin Johnson, noted: “I’m expecting lots of good things from this team. I have seen them play a number of practice matches, and they have been looking quite sharp, and I’m expecting that they do quite well in this tournament.”
Furthermore, Team Captain, Keante Brooks, stated: “In preparation for this tournament, there has been lots of sweat and effort put in from the team and I would expect us to put out all the effort that we had to put in the training, and I expect the guys, along with myself, and all of us, to make a statement and carry on the Anguillian Pride.”
In addition, Team Vice Captain, Micah Brooks, added: “What I look for in the team is to just go out there and fight hard, because we have been putting in the work lately – throughout the whole season, throughout the whole year. I know it had times where some fellas felt like giving up, but we kept pushing and keep on going. So as we go out to compete in this tournament, I just want us to play hard and put out a statement that we can actually play football and play together as a team.”
The CONCACAF Under 17 Qualifiers will be played in 4 groups, A, B, C and D. Anguilla is in Group B with Puerto Rico, Aruba, Martinique and the US Virgin Islands. The matches in the group will be played in a round robin format, each team playing one match against each of the other teams in the same group. After which, the top team from each group will advance to the round of 16 of the 2023 CONCACAF Under 17 Championship.
The National Team left the island on Wednesday 31 August and their match schedule is as follows:
September 2nd – Puerto Rico – 9:00 am
September 4th – Aruba – 9:00 am
September 6th – US Virgin Islands – 9:00 am
September 8th – Martinique – 9:00 am
