Under 17 boys begin preparation for Concacaf Championship

Dec 14, 2022

The Under 17 players listed below were called to camp at the UWI-JFF Captain Burrell Centre of Excellence as of Monday, December 11, in preparation for the Concacaf  U17 Championship which takes place in Guatemala from February 11-26.

Head coach is Merron Gordon and he is assisted by Vassell Reynolds.

This is a preliminary list and some players will be released and others added until a settled squad comes together by the first week of January, when they will be housed continuously for the entire month. Five overseas-based players are included in the current squad, while eight others have been invited to be properly assessed next week.

For the Group Stage of the tourney, Groups E and G will be based at the Estadio Nacional Doroteo Guamuch Flores in Guatemala City, while Groups F and H will be hosted by the Estadio Pensativo in Antigua.

Group E: Mexico, Panama, Guatemala, Curacao

Group F: USA, Canada, Trinidad and Tobago, Barbados

Group G: Costa Rica, Jamaica, Cuba, Guadeloupe

Group H: Honduras, Haiti, El Salvador, Suriname

After Group Stage play, the top three nations in each group will advance to the knockout stage, joining the four 2022 Concacaf U-17 Men’s Qualifiers (CU17Q) group winners: Bermuda, Dominican Republic, Nicaragua, and Puerto Rico.

The Round of 16 matches will take place February 18 and 19, at both venues, followed by the Quarterfinals (February 21 and 22), Semifinals (February 24) and Final (February 26) in Guatemala City.

All knockout stage matches will be played in a single match direct elimination format and the four semifinalists will qualify for the FIFA U-17 World Cup Peru 2023.

In the previous edition of the Concacaf U-17 Championship, played in Bradenton, FL, in 2019, Mexico won its eighth title at this age level, with a 2-1 extra time win over the United States in the Final.