THE NATIONAL youth selectors have chosen 40 young footballers, from a pool of 150, to attend training sessions with a view to representing Barbados at next year’s CONCACAF Under-15 tournament.
Training for the boys began yesterday at the Wildey AstroTurf under the direction of manager Raphael Holder and coaches Renaldo Gilkes, Michael Foster, Kent Hall, Damien Edwards, Kenville Layne and Mark Alleyne.
Chairman of the technical committee of the Barbados Football Association, Adrian Donovan, who was at the practice session, said the 40 boys selected did not represent a closed shop in any way.
“We have held four trials thus far, and at present the Barbados Secondary Schools’ Football League is going on and January is the start of the Tiger Malt Youth Football Competition. If there are any players in this age group who stand out or who, in the opinion of the selectors, deserve to be in the squad, they will be added,” he said.
Adding that training sessions would increase as time went on, he alluded to the fact that overseas players had shown interest in attending trials.
“We have some interest with some players who are of Barbadian parentage. They have expressed an interest to come down here for trials, and there are some of them who have made steps to procure their Barbadian passports in preparation to make the team,” he explained.
The final squad, however, will not be chosen until the new year. (RA)
