The National U-15 Boys Compete in the 2019 CONCACAF Championships
The national under-fifteen team secured a win today against Saint Kitts and Nevis after a disappointing loss to French Guiana on the first day of competition. The team is currently in Miami, Florida where the CONCACAF Championship is ongoing. The athletes have been preparing for months to make their mark in their first international match where they also stand a chance to be scouted. News Five’s Duane Moody reports.
Philip Marin, Technical Director, F.F.B.
Philip Marin
“We’ll be playing a total of four games so we start tomorrow against French Guiana at eleven and then Tuesday we play Saint Kitts at the same time. We have a rest on Wednesday and on Thursday we are back with Saint Lucia and we have the fourth game on Thursday based on the result of our three games.”
Duane Moody, Reporting
The national under-fifteen male selection is in Bradenton, Florida representing the Jewel in the CONCACAF Championship Games. They left the country over the weekend and on Monday, faced off in their first match against the team from French Guiana. It was their first real international experience and they lost three-nil. But the lost must have motivated team Belize because earlier today in their matchup against Saint Kitts and Nevis, the U-fifteen boys dominated the game, playing with confidence to secure a three-nil win against the Caribbean island. Prior to the team’s departure for the games, F.F.B. President Sergio Chuc spoke about the investment in the youth. He says that the development of young talent isn’t focused on the immediate benefits.
Sergio Chuc
Sergio Chuc, President, F.F.B.
“This U-fifteen that we have here is what I’ve been dreaming about for a long time. This is where the process is going to show. We have been talking about believing in the process. This U-fifteen is the process.”
Philip Marin
“We have been preparing more than four months. We played several friendly games in Belize with our local district selection. The head coach is Mister Vicenzo Anis from Italy; he’s being assisted by John George. The goalkeeper coach is Stanley Reneau; the physical trainer is Joseph Wade, the equipment manager Herbert Trapp; the doctor is Doctor Carlos Crespo and the physiotherapist, Mister Aba Ben.”
The team comprises of young football athletes from across the country as well as a few from the diaspora.
Genadi Castillo, Team Belize
Genadi Castillo
“I feel good because lot of people mi want deh pan di team, but dah noh everybody coulda make it. So I put my mind to it and I put all into it because when you di push the other people di push too so you have to put in your pounds. Even when I come off ah camp, I still go home and I do my part because only you can do it. And I just want say it mi challenging; it never easy.”
Kendale Butler
Kendale Butler, Team Belize
“For me to be on this selection, I really gave it my all. I pushed when I couldn’t push anymore. I made sure I put in the work that I needed to do and that gave me the opportunity to be on the team. I feel confident in my team and I know that we can bring home this victory. I see the way they work and I know they can do good. And the coaching staff did an excellent job coaching us and getting us ready for this competition.”
Chuc says that during the games, young athletes are scouted by universities and given athletic scholarships for the sport in an effort to further develop their craft.
Sergio Chuc
“We have three games in Bradenton, Florida; these are fourteen and fifteen-year-olds. I am hoping that in the U.S., they can capture the attention of coaches—not only professional coaches that coach professional teams, but what I am more interested in is actually coaches from the different universities that could offer these kids full scholarships to universities. I think that is the key to develop football since we are not one of the countries with all the resources and we depend mostly on FIFA funding. If we get these kids into good universities that have good football programmes, they will become the Michael Salazar.”
On Thursday, team Belize plays against Saint Lucia. To advance to the fourth game, the national team will need to secure a win, but also French Guiana would need to lose to Saint Kitts. Duane Moody for News Five.
