Jabloteh begin Champions League quest today

Jabloteh, whose 20-man squad left for St Vincent today, will open against Saint Maarten’s Flames United SC today from 5.30 pm, then face Guadeloupe’s Club Sportif Moulien on Friday from 5.30 pm, before completing the first round round-robin stage against hosts System 3 Sport Academy from 7.30 pm on Sunday. All matches will be contested at Victoria Park in Kingstown, St Vincent.

Team captain and Jamaican defensive midfielder Damian Williams will lead Jabloteh’s 20-man squad which includes goalkeepers Javon Sample and Guyana’s Andrew Durrant; defenders Akeem Benjamin, Jerome Mc Intyre, Josiah Trimmingham, Jevon Morris and Jamaican Adrian Reid; midfielders Elijah Manners, Keyon Edwards, Jamaican Keithy Simpson, Kion Joseph, Panamanian Jairo Lombardo, Kennedy Hinkson, Nathan Lewis and Micah Lansiquot; and forwards Jamal Gay, Tyrone Charles, Kadeem Corbin and Guyana’s Vurlon Mills.

Jabloteh, champions in 2003, last competed at the Caribbean Club Championship in 2010, finishing third behind champions Puerto Rico Islanders and now defunct, runners-up Joe Public.

Jabloteh’s runners-up finish in the 2015/16 Digicel Pro League season qualified them along with champions Central FC for this season’s Caribbean Club Championship.

Central FC, the two-time Caribbean defending champions, heads a record 21 clubs from 12 countries who have qualified for the this season’s edition of the CFU competition, which will determine the region’s representatives to CONCACAF’s expanded competitions platform.

The five group winners will advance to the final round, scheduled for May 14-21. Central FC, who received a bye as reigning champions, will host the final round in Trinidad. (ttpr oleague.com)