The 2012 Oasis T&T Youth Pro League will kick off on Sunday with matches being contested in all three divisions, the under-14, under-16 and the under-18. Champions W Connection, who won both the under-13 (now under-14) and under-15 (now under-16) divisions last season, will be looking to retain their league titles outright, while the under-18 (formerly under-17) division will see a new champion, with the absence of 2011 league winners Joe Public FC, who, as in the case with the senior outfit, will sit out proceedings for the 2012 season. The clubs, all of which also compete in the senior Digicel TT Pro League are as follows: W Connection, San Juan Jabloteh, Police FC, St Ann's Rangers, North East Stars, Defence Force, T&TEC and Caledonia AIA.
The Youth Pro League, the highest level of competitive football in T&T for players under the age of 18, was described by Pro League CEO Dexter Skeene as the "lifeblood of your clubs," when the official launch of the 2012 season was held at the VIP Lounge at the Hasely Crawford Stadium, Wrightson Road, yesterday. "It is the breeding ground for our senior national footballers. Some of those have been nurtured, shaped, and sharpened, while representing the various clubs, in the bowels of the Oasis Youth League and have gone on to represent (the) country at the various levels," said Skeene. He identified Sheldon Bateau, Devorn Jorsling, Leston Paul, Daneil Cyrus, Andrei Pacheco and Shahdon Winchester as some of the notable players, who went on to represent T&T as a product of the Youth League. For the third consecutive season Oasis-a bottled water product of SM Jaleel & Co Ltd-has pumped $50,000 into the league's administration, in addition to its contribution of bottled water to the eight clubs, on their match days.