Vincy Under-17 footballers prepare for Concacaff Group encounters

STVINCENT ANDTHE Grenadines Under-17 female footballers, currently preparing for Concacaff competition, had mixed fortunes in matches of the Windward Islands Football Association (WIFA) Competition, held in Grenada.

The Vincentian Under-17 lasses faltered against their Grenadian counterparts, 0-4 only on the last day of competition on December, 20 2025.

The SVG squad secured a 2-1 win against Dominica in an earlier match,and also defeated a Grenada Under-15 squad that was inserted in the absence of St Lucia.

The competition which ran from December 18 to 20, served as preparation for the three participating countries that are listed in the Concacaf Under-17 Qualifiers carded for early 2026.

St Vincent and the Grenadines is listed in Group D, along with Honduras, Jamaica, Guyana, and Aruba. That segment of the qualifiers takes place from January 24 to February 2, 2026, in Aruba.

Meanwhile,the Vincentians Under-17 males hosted their Grenadian counterparts at home at the Chili Playing Field, Georgetown in friendly engagements from December 16-18, 2025.

Though defeated 2-1 in the first, and also losing in their second encounter, the young Vincentians drew the third game 2-2.

“ As a coaching staff we only worked with the team for about two weeks prior to the matches versus Grenada, so we were basically in a trial period, so we agreed to look at the players equally, give them equal opportunities to play in terms of minutes to see how they will compete,” Coach, Kendale Mercury stated as he reflected on the encounters.

“Two losses and a draw may be not good for playing at home at this level, but I was not worried because the objectives are still in trial mode and I personally think we competed well in certain areas and in

some areas, we were outplayed and out-manoeuvred.”

Mercury said during the matches they looked for “ effort, attitude, reaction, thoughts and habits” displayed by the players.

Like Grenada, St Vincent and the Grenadines’ Under-17 males are also preparing for Concacaf qualifiers in February, 2026.

Placed in Group E, St Vincent and the Grenadines will meet the USA, the Dominican Republic, as well as St Kitts and Nevis.

Group E matches are carded to be played at the Arnos Vale Playing Field from February 3-12, 2026.

Both fixtures were also part of the SVG Football Federation’s ongoing youth development programme, aimed at providing meaningful international exposure for young players while assessing technical, tactical, and psychological readiness in competitive match environments.