PROVIDENCIALES, Turks and Caicos Islands – The Turks and Caicos Women’s National Team will soon compete in the Dominican Republic, in what is expected to be an exciting test of wills for the local team.
The competition, the 2010 CONCACAF Women’s Gold Cup – Phase 1, will see Team TCI play in Group D with the Dominican Republic – where they will play each other twice, with the winner advancing to the next stage.
The CONCACAF Women’s Gold Cup is a biannual football competition sponsored by CONCACAF, and serves as a qualifying competition to the Women’s World Cup. CONCACAF – the Confederation of North, Central American and Caribbean Association Football – is the governing body for football for North America and the Caribbean, for which the Turks and Caicos Islands is a member through the Turks and Caicos Islands Football Association (TCIFA).
The TCI delegation comprising of the Women’s National Team and staff, leave the Turks and Caicos on Wednesday, March 24, returning Monday, March 29; with the matches played on March 26 and 28. Upon arrival, the team will travel to Santo Domingo, where the Dominican Football Federation is providing lodging, training facilities and other assistance.
Of Team TCI’s participation in the 2010 CONCACAF Women’s Gold Cup, TCIFA’s President Christopher Bryan stated that: “The Football Association’s medium term aim is to be competitive at regional level and these games will be an important indication of where we are currently in this regard. We still have a young squad of players, many at U17 level, but this will give the girls much needed experience in a higher level of competition.”
What is more added Bryan: “We are looking ahead to 2014 when the team will be older and will have the next opportunity to contest the World Cup Qualifying matches. The odds are heavily stacked against us playing a country with a population of nine million but I still believe we may surprise people in the region with our performance in the Dominican Republic. ”
In the run-up their departure, TCIFA’s Technical Director Matthew Green said: “We are very excited about these games as it gives further opportunities for our young players to test themselves against international teams. Clearly, the long term goal is to prepare for 2014 when most of our players will then be over the age of 20, however our young players bring a great amount of enthusiasm and energy to the team and I am sure they will represent the country well as they did at U20 level last year.”
Green went on to add that: “we have a few senior and experienced players in the squad which give us a good balance and our team spirit is high so we are confident we will perform at our best.”
