A T&T national under 15 squad is in training for the inaugural Concacaf Under-15 Championships which kicks off in the Cayman Islands on August 13.
T&T will be among 24 countries taking part in the four-group tournament. The local team, under head coach Shawn Cooper will face St Kitt's Nevis in their opening encounter on August 14, and will follow up against Honduras a day later. The other opponents in T&T's Group C are Curacao, Guadeloupe and St Martin.
The top team in each of the four groups will head straight into the semi-finals on August 23 with the final carded for August 25.
The tournament, according to TTFA General Secretary Sheldon Phillips, provides an excellent platform for this country's youth development programme as over one hundred players between the ages 11 and 14 have been scouted throughout the various regional associations and zones in T&T.
A squad of thirty players is in training under Cooper and assistant coach Leonson Lewis.
Director of Football Leo Beenhakker is expected to have a look at the team in action, having already attended a training session.
Cooper, who led the previous T&T Under 17 team to within one win of qualifying for the 2013 FIFA Under 17 World Cup earlier this year, said the current bunch of players possessed a decent level of skill and talent.
"There are some really talented players in the bunch but we have not seen enough players to fill our defensive line up. We saw over one hundred players during the talent identification programme and currently we are working hard with the very few defenders in the mix to get them up to scratch," Cooper told TTFA Media.
"What we have found is that some of these players who are also attached to local clubs, lack the basic fundamentals of the game such as positioning and understanding of their roles and functions. But again, this is why we are very keen to have them at a national team level at the age of 12, 13 and 14 so that we can iron out these problems before they head into the under 17 category.
"I think we stand to benefit a lot from the games at this tournament because it allows the players to get that international experience which will go a long way in helping prepare them for the future tournaments at the youth level leading up to the senior team," Cooper added.
Phillips meantime, said it was crucial for the TTFA to focus on development in this particular age group, even going a bit lower to the Under-10 category.
"This has to be a major part of our focus, which is teaching the basics and getting the players to learn the game properly at this age group. We have had excellent support from the Ministry of Sport and now with corporate bodies beginning to step back in, we will be able to provide the resources to ensure the coaches and the players are well taken care of," Phillips said.
Some of the other nations competing in the tournament include El Salvador, Guatemala, Jamaica, Belize, Martinique, Haiti. St Vincent/Grenadines, Bermuda, Bahamas, St Lucia, Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, Antigua/Barbuda, US Virgin Islands, St Marteen, Aruba, Grenada and hosts Cayman Islands.
T&T schedule
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Aug 14–T&T vs St Kitts/Nevis
Aug 15–T&T vs Honduras
Aug 17–T&T vs Curacao
Aug 19–T&T vs St Martin
Aug 21–T&T vs Guadeloupe