Caribbean: The CFU Under 14 Challenge Series 2024, hosting 23 boy’s teams, entered its second day of the tournament on Saturday, 17 August. The second day of the football tournament started with the venture of eight teams placed in Tier 1 while the team of Tier 2 continued their journey.
The multi-nation football tournament is organized by the Caribbean Football Union, which is joined by the English, Dutch, Spanish, and French-speaking Caribbean countries. A total of 10 matches were fixed on the second day of the series for teams of both Tier 1 and Tier 2.
The U-14 football series is taking place in Trinidad and Tobago, where four venues were prepared to host 10 matches on day two. The four venues that hosted the matches of young boys were Larry Gomes Stadium, ATO Boldon Stadium, Hasley Crawford Stadium, and Dwight Vorke Stadium.
Dwight Vorke Stadium was first time used as venues in the CFU Under 14 Challenge Series 2024. Among 10 matches, six matches were played by the teams placed in Tier 2 while the other four matches summoned Tier 1 teams on the ground for the first time.
The six matches of Tier 2 were hosted in the Larry Gomes Stadium and Hasley Crawford Stadium, three matches each. Meanwhile, the Tier 1 matches were hosted in Dwight Vorke Stadium for Group A and ATO Boldon Stadium for Group B, two matches each.
The new day in the CFU Under 14 Challenge Series 2024 started with the match of Tier 2 Group A. The U-14 boy’s team of Guyana and Barbados faced each other on the ground of Larry Gomes Stadium. The match started at 11:00 am which ended with a score of 6-2 in favour of the Barbados team.
The next matches of Tire 2 was fixed in the series was at 02:00 pm. At the same time, two matches were held; one was of Group B, British Virgin Islands versus Turks and Caicos Islands, at Hasley Crawford Stadium. The second match was of Group C, St Lucia versus Sint Maarten, at Larry Gomes Stadium.
Both the matches that happened at the same time ended with similar scores of 4-0 after the final whistle. The match went in favour of ‘Turks and Caicos Islands’ and ‘St Lucia’ who ended on the winning sides, respectively.
The opponent teams of both matches, ‘the British Virgin Islands and ‘Sint Maarten,’ were not able to clear the goalpost even once. The half-time in both matches ended 2-0, which ended with two more goals for the winning sides after the second halves.
After that, the two matches for Tier 2 teams were held at 04:00 pm in the same two stadiums. The match at Hasley Crawford Stadium was between Bonaire and Bermuda from Group C. The team of Bermuda was the victor of the face-off with a score of 5-0.
The young boy’s team of Bonaire was not able to score any goal in the match. The first half was sealed with four goals by the boys of Bermuda, which led to their victory after the second half with one more goal.
Another match was between the teams of Group A at Larry Gomes Stadium. The match was St Vincent and the Grenadines versus Cayman Islands, which finished with a score of 4-2. The winning points were collected by the team of St Vincent and the Grenadines.
The winning team took the lead of two goals in the first half of the match with 2-0. The second half of the match witnessed four goals, two by each side. The difference of two goals in starting phase of the match became difference of win and loss.
The last match of the day for Tier 2 teams was at 06:00 pm at Hasley Crawford Stadium. The match was between teams of Group B, US Virgin Islands versus Dominica. The match was taken over by the young boys of Dominica, who added winning numbers to the points table.
The U-14 football teams of boys placed in Tier 1 started their venture in the CFU Under 14 Challenge Series 2024 on the day. The face-off was started from 02:00 pm when Group B teams hit the ground for the first time at ATO Boldon Stadium.
The match was between St Martin and Puerto Rico, which ended with the one-sided result of 6-0. The U-14 team of Puerto Rico totally dominated the players of St Martin on the field and booked their victory. The losing team was not able to score any goal or save any attack in the match.
The first half of the match concluded with a score of 4-0, while the second half added two more goals to the winning side. The second match at ATO Boldon Stadium was held at 04:00 pm between team of Curaçao and French Guiana from Group B.
This match also ended with single-sided domination and a score of 3-1 in favor of French Guiana. The winning team scored the one and only goal of the first half, which finished with a score of 1-0. The second half of the match witnessed 3 goals, one by the Curaçao team and two by the victors.
After the conclusion of the first two matches of Tier 1, the venture headed to the Dwight Vorke Stadium for the first match at the venue. The match was between U-14 teams of ‘St Kitts and Nevis’ and ‘Jamaica’ and started at 04:30 pm. The challenge ended with victory for Jamaica and a score of 2-0.
The last match of the day in CFU Under 14 Challenge Series 2024 was between ‘Trinidad and Tobago’ and ‘Aruba.’ The match was scheduled at 06:30 pm at Dwight Vorke Stadium, which was delayed for half an hour and started at 07:00 pm. The match ended with the defeat of Aruba and a final score of 3-1.