Search on for Under-17 stars

The search for future Trinidad and Tobago Under-17 footballers will commence at the Hasely Crawford Stadium, Mucurapo today at 9 am. Recently appointed national Under-17 coach Nigel Grosvenor will conduct screening sessions over the next week as he seeks to assemble a squad of 40 players. They are to begin official national training in January as TT prepare for the Caribbean Football Union leg of the FIFA Under-17 World Championship qualifiers. Assisting Grosvenor will be coach Sean De Four and trainer Ricardo Stevenson who have been part of Grosvenor’s technical staff at the dominant St Anthony’s College.

Winston St Clair is the team manager. Grosvenor said he is hoping to have a closer look at the talent available throughout the country. “We have to be realistic that we do not have loads of time to get a squad together and there’s no time to waste. The best option is to put the  players into match positions and see who has the ability and who does not,” Grosvenor said. He added that while a squad will be selected for January, the doors will not be closed on a potential talent that may have been missed during the initial screening sessions. “We are going to miss one or two faces in selecting the 40-man squad but we will continue to keep our eyes open. The main thing is to select those that we can see now in match situations,” he said. The CFU  qualifiers are scheduled to run from September 15 to December 17, 2004. The FIFA Championship takes place in Peru in 2005.

Scheduled screening sessions
December 13, 9-11am —- Hasely Crawford Stadium, Mucurapo
December 14, 9-12 pm —- Larry Gomes Stadium practice pitch, Malabar
December 15, 9-11.30 am —- Mahaica Oval, Point Fortin
December 17, 9-11am —- Sangre Grande Recreation Ground
December 18, 2003, 9-3.30pm —- Dwight Yorke Stadium, Bacolet, tobago