National Women’s Under 17 team head coach Rajesh Latchoo says that the preparations for the 2016 FIFA Under 17 World Cup qualification is beginning to take shape.
Latchoo has been overseeing the team’s preparations since last October, conducting training sessions three days weekly at the Ato Boldon Stadium in Couva
The squad includes players who have graduated from the past Under 15 Women’s team that finished a commendable third at the 2014 CONCACAF Under 15 Championship in the Cayman Islands last August. T&T were edged 1-0 by regional giants Canada 1-0 in the semi final before thumping Honduras 5-2 in the third place playoff.
“This is basically the same team with the exception of a few players from the one that finished third last year in the Cayman Islands, “ Latchoo told TTFA Media.
“We’ve kept the squad together and we’ve been training together since last year October with only two breaks for Christmas and Carnival. We’ve been training three days per week consistently.”
The T&T U-17s recently topped Under 18 Women Division of the Carapichaima Youth Super League which Latchoo said was used to keep the players match fit. The Team will also participate in the Premier Division of the T&T Women’s League (WOLF) which starts next month.
“We had the team playing in the Carapichaima league even though the quality of opposition was not always up to par but we felt it was good to have the players active. We had a some decent challenges in a couple of the matches and we felt it was good to have some of the players from the other teams to have that opportunity to play against a national team and at the same time our girls were able to get consistent match practice,” Latchoo explained
The Caribbean Football Union leg of the World Cup qualifiers is expected to start in July. T&T will be aiming to qualify for the CONCACAF Final stage from which three teams will qualify for the 2016 FIFA Under 17 Women’s World Cup in Jordan.
Assisting Latchoo with the preparations of the team is assistant coaches Damien Daniels and Denise Wickham with Lyndelle Hoyte-Sanchez serving as manager.
The Trinidad and Tobago Football Association also recently commenced the Under 15 Women’s Team program being overseen by Muhammad Isa as they look ahead to the CONCACAF U-15 Women’s Championship. The TTFA will also the women teams involved in the first annual CONCACAF Women’s Football Day in Saturday May 23rd, 2015.
This initiative, which was presented at the CONCACAF “Let’s Develop Women’s Football” seminar held in last October in Philadelphia, will aim to unite all 41 Member Associations to celebrate women’s football throughout the region.