CFU Youth Cup next month

The annual CFU tournament will have as invited guest teams of Canada, Guatemala, El Salvador, Mexico and Panama joining 24 Caribbean sides in the competition.

The first round of the 2006 CFU Youth Cup will have seven groups of four teams playing in seven venues — Hasely Crawford Stadium in Mucurapo; Dwight Yorke Stadium in Bacolet; Brechin Castle in Couva; Ato Boldon Stadium in Couva; Larry Gomes Stadium in Arima; Manny Ramjohn Stadium in Marabella and Guaracara Park in Point-a-Pierre from August 14-19.

The group winners along with the best second-place finisher will progress into the quarterfinals on August 22. The semi-finals are scheduled for August 24, with the third-place match and final set for two days later.

Canada won last year’s CFU Youth Cup after defeating Guatemala by a score of four-0 in the final held at the Hasely Crawford Stadium.

Jamaica took the third-place honours earlier in the day with a 3-0 win over the hosts.

The 2006 CFU Youth Cup will also double as the Caribbean Preliminary Qualification to the CONCACAF Under-17 Final Round with the group matches due to take place in April 2007.

The best Caribbean team (excluding Jamaica) from the 2006 CFU Youth Cup will advance to the 2007 CONCACAF Under-17 Final Round along with Canada, Mexico and the United States; two squads from Central America; and final group hosts Honduras and Jamaica.

The top two squads from each of the CONCACAF Final Round Groups will qualify to the 2007 FIFA Under-17 World Cup in South Korea.

The two third-place finishers from each of the Final Round Groups will meet in a two-match play-off for the final Confederation berth in the FIFA event.