Wade Hails Success Of Bermuda U/17 Team
[Written by Stephen Wright]
Reaching the finals of regional tournaments is starting to become something of a habit for Bermuda’s senior and age group national teams.
Bermuda qualified for the Concacaf Under-17 Championship last night despite losing their final qualifying match 3-2 to Guyana in Bradenton, Florida.
It is the first time the nation has reached the Concacaf Under-17 Championship in its current format.
Mark Wade, the Bermuda Football Association president, hopes that Bermuda advancing to regional finals will soon be considered the norm rather than the exception.
“This is a space we want to be in regularly,” Wade told Bernews. “We’re turning a corner with our national teams consistently reaching regional championships.
“It’s become something we expect rather than something of a surprise. We now want to continue on this particular track.”
Bermuda finished top of group A with 12 points after convincing wins over the British Virgin Islands [4-0], Saint Martin [9-0], Bonaire [2-0] and Bahamas [4-0].
They can now look forward to facing the region’s powerhouses at the Championship, held in Guatemala from February 11 to 22, and compete for four qualifying spots for the Under-17 World Cup in Peru next year.
“The team emphatically reached the Championship, and now we’re looking forward to February,” said Wade, who has served as BFA president since 2016.
“We will be up against some of the top teams in the region, such as Mexico, the United States and Canada.
“We will look to give the team as much preparation as possible, and we’re looking forward to seeing how they get on against the region’s best teams.”
In recent years Bermuda’s national teams have excelled on the international stage, qualifying for the Concacaf Gold Cup in 2019, the Concacaf Women’s Under-20 Championship and Concacaf Girls Under-15 Championship this summer, and the Concacaf Under-20 Championship in 2017 and 2018.
The seeds of those successes were planted more than a decade ago with the establishment of the National Academy in 2009, the opening of the $1.3 million Clyde Best Centre of Excellence in 2015, and the previous BFA Executive Council’s Strategic Plan in 2015, the objectives of which have largely been met by the current regime.
“We’ve largely achieved our aim of reaching the final round of regional competitions, which is pleasing to see,” Wade said. “We’re now moving on to our next Strategic Plan, which says we want to go a step further.”
Among the players who flourished at the qualifiers were forwards Xahvi DeRosa, who struck a hat-trick against Saint Martin, Hayden Dill and Chance Eve, who both netted twice at the qualifying competition.
“When you look at the group individually, not just the 20 players who went to Bradenton, there are quite a few talented players; a large majority are overseas.
“There was an expectation for this team, and thankfully they met that expectation.”
Wade also singled out praise for head coach Cecoy Robinson, who is still an active player in the Premier Division with Dandy Town, missing their 4-0 defeat to Devonshire Cougars in the Charity Cup on Wednesday.
“Developing coaches is another part of it,” Wade added. “We’ve put a lot of time and energy into Cecoy. It’s great to see our young coaches enjoying success on the international stage, and we’re looking to find more gems in the rough who we can put into the international arena.”
With so many under-17 players based overseas in the United States and England, Wade said the BFA must tackle logistical challenges in preparing the squad for the Championship and revealed they intend to take advantage of online platforms to keep tabs on the group.
“It’s very tough, but we’re in the same space as our competitors,” he said. “We’re developing and maturing as an administration in preparing our players as so many are overseas.
“There will be windows when we can get some time with our players. I’m sure we will look to put on some virtual training sessions for the players as well.”
