Central FC land CFU Club Champs Crown

MAY 2015, VOLUME 3, ISSUE 5, CARIBBEAN FOOTBALL UNION NEWSLETTER
ARTICLES
3 CFU teams line up for
2nd round of CONCACAF
WCQ
Central FC land CFU
Club Champs Crown
T
5 CONCACAF Women’s
rinidad and Tobago’s
Central FC secured
their first lien on the
Caribbean Football Union
(CFU) Club Championship
after defeating nine-man
DirectTV WConnection, 2-1,
in the final on Sunday, May
24 at a crammed Ato Boldon
Stadium in Couva, Trinidad
and Tobago.
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Both teams, along with
2015 CFU Club Champions Central FC
Montego Bay United of
Jamaica earned the three
available berths from the Caribbean at the 2015/16 Scotiabank CONCACAF Champions
League tournament.
4 Grenada to host 2016
CONCACAF U-17 Women’s
Champs
Football Day
30 Goalkeeper Coaches
benefit from CONCACAF
Course held in Barbados
Montego Bay United edged Don Bosco of Haiti, 1-0, in the third-place play-off game,
which was the curtain-raiser at the venue.
CFU President Gordon Derrick praised all the successful teams but reminded them that
this was just the beginning.
7 Spotlight on Former
Female FIFA Referee Dianne
Ferriera-James
“Naturally we in the CFU executive and the region are proud of all the qualifying teams,
but to qualify is only the start of a journey which we all hope will be a rewarding one as we
bring Caribbean football to the forefront of the America’s and the world.”
“Again congratulations and give it your best shot knowing that the region is fully behind
you and wish you all the best of luck,” said the President.
On April 15, fourteen teams started the pursuit for top honours and a place in the
Scotiabank CONCACAF Champions League in four groups, in four countries.
Cont’d page 2
XXXVIII CFU......cont’d
Football action in 2015 CFU Club
Championship
DirectTV WConnection Football team were
placed second
Montego Bay United came third
On April 19, Central FC, DirectTV WConnection Montego Bay United and Don
Bosco FC topped their respective groups, thus qualifying for the Final Round.
The semi-finals were played on May 22 when DirectTV WConnection FC
defeated Montego Bay United 1-0, to book their spot in the final, and Central
FC defeated Don Bosco 3-1 on penalties, to land the other spot.
The three-year-old Central FC team went into the final on a high after copping
the Trinidad & Tobago Pro League title and topping the tables with six points
over DirectTV WConnection FC just a few weeks earlier.
Football action in 2015 CFU Club Championship
The wet conditions seemed to be what the champions needed to seal the
issue as in the 27th minute they took the lead with a strike from Jean-Luc
Rochford to end the first segment with the advantage.
Central FC entered the second segment with good intentions but were not
left in a comfortable position as DirectTV WConnection tried desperately to
get back into the game. The contest was fierce, with both teams trying hard
to become the top team in Trinidad and Tobago.
Things took a turn for the worst for the runners-up in the 60th minute when
Gerrald Williams was shown a second yellow card and expelled from the
game, leaving DirectTV WConnection with ten men to face the onslaught of
their marauding rivals.
Football action in 2015 CFU Club Championship
In the 69th minute Central FC secured a critical 2-0 cushion when Jamal Jack
found the back of the net after skirting past custodian Julani Archibald.
Things got even worst for DirectTV WConnection FC when Maurice Ford
picked up a straight red card for rough play against an opponent in the 76th
minute, therefore leaving just nine men to battle Central FC.
However, despite their numerical disadvantage, DirectTV WConnection
continued to attack with energy and urgency and were rewarded in the dying
moments when substitute Neil Benjamin took a consolation for his team
from twelve yards in the 90+1 minute for a 2-1 final result.
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Football Action in the CFU Club Championship game
CFU teams line up
for 2nd round of
CONCACAF WCQ
Team 1
Nicaragua St Vincent and
the Grenadines
Antigua &
Barbuda Aruba
Curacao
Dominica
Republic
Dominica
St Kitts and
Nevis
Puerto Rico
Guatemala
F
ifteen Caribbean Football Union (CFU) Member Association
National Men teams, along with five teams from the
CONCACAF region, will do battle in Round Two of the FIFA
World Cup ‘Road to Russia 2018 CONCACAF Qualifying’
tournament.
Twenty teams will start their campaign in a home-and-away
qualifying format on June 7 through to 16, from which ten
teams will advance to the third round of the competition.
Ten teams will advance to Round Three, which is scheduled to
be played later this year, and for which details will be posted as
soon as it is available.
vs
vs
vs
Team 2
Suriname
Guyana
vs
St Lucia
vs
vs
vs
Barbados
Cuba
Belize
vs
vs
Canada
El Salvador
vs
vs
Grenada
Bermuda
For the records, to date four teams from the Caribbean have
graced the World Cup Finals stage. They are Haiti, Cuba,
Jamaica and Trinidad & Tobago. The current champions are
Germany, who lifted the prestigious silverware at the last
staging held in Brazil between June and July, 2014.
The Senior Men’s World Cup Final is FIFA’s flagship event and
was first staged in 1930. The inaugural edition, was staged
in Uruguay and was contested as a final tournament with
thirteen teams invited by the organization to compete in the
showpiece event.
The roster above reflects the format in which the match-ups
will be played with home teams listed first and slated to host
the opening legs of these games.
Logos of the 15 CFU Member Association WCQ teams competing in Round Two
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Grenada to host 2016
CONCACAF U-17
Women’s Championships
G
renada will host next year’s CONCACAF Women’s U-17
Championship where eight teams will compete for
regional honours, along with three berths at the 2016 FIFA
U-17 Women’s World Cup, scheduled to be staged in Jordon.
Gordon Derrick, President of the CFU
The matches are scheduled for March, while the FIFA U-17
World Cup games are set for September, 2016. CFU President, Derrick Gordon said he anticipates a successful
tournament. “Over the years we have seen the Caribbean step
up to the plate and deliver quality tournaments which has
been one of our mandates from the start,” he said.
“This competition brings pride to my executive, the region
and all the hard working men and women of football. We will
work with Grenada to produce a memorable tournament and
wish the best of luck to all participating teams with the hope
that the CFU is strongly represented at the 2016 World Cup,”
Gordon added.
Next year’s tournament in Grenada will
parade three nations from the Caribbean
Football Union (CFU), two from the Central
American Football Union (UNCAF) and
three from North America.
Canada, Mexico and the United States have
gained automatic qualification from North
America, while the qualifying processes
in CFU and UNCAF will take place in the
coming months. As host country, Grenada automatically
qualified as one of the three representatives of the CFU.
Following the announcement, an elated President of the
Grenada Football Association, Cheney Joseph, said: “The
decision of the CONCACAF Executive Committee to award
Grenada such a prestigious tournament is a major milestone,
and we appreciate the confidence shown in our association.
“The staging of such an event will require all stakeholders to
work together to make the event a major success. This is the
first time that Grenada will be hosting a tournament of this
magnitude and we are very thankful for this opportunity.
Grenada stands ready to host the best of the Federations’
Under-17 girls and we do hope to make their time there a very
memorable one,” he declared.
Cheney Joseph, Grenada FA President
Meanwhile, according to Grenada’s Minister of
Sport, Emmelin Pierre, “Grenada is definitely
supportive of CONCACAF and the promotion
and development of women’s football in the
region. We are excited and grateful for this
tremendous opportunity to host a women’s
final and we will work closely with the GFA to
be a great host.”
The date of the official draw for the CONCACAF Under-17
Women’s Championship in Grenada will be announced later
this year. At the draw, the eight qualified participating Member
Associations will be divided into two groups of four.
After the group stage, the winners and second-placed teams
from each group will advance to the semi-finals. The winner of
each semi-final match will progress to the final, and advance
directly to the FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup finals, while the
two losing semi-finalists will compete for third place. The
winner of this latter fixture will also advance to the World Cup.
Mexico are the defending champions of the CONCACAF
Under-17 Women’s Championship, having won the title in
Jamaica in November 2013.
4
CONCACAF
Women’s Football
Day
CONCACAF’s inaugural Women’s Football Day was officially
celebrated on Saturday, May 23 by the Member Associations
participating in Women’s football activities within the region.
Throughout the day, thousands of girls and women had
the opportunity to participate in a celebration of women’s
football activities designed to increase awareness of the sport,
promote the many benefits of being involved with the game,
and unifying the entire CONCACAF region in a day of women’s
football for the very first time.
Referees at the CONCACAF World Football Day in Jamaica
CONCACAF Member Associations dedicated their time
and resources to hosting a multitude of various events such
as Football Tournaments, Grassroots Festivals, Football
Skills Challenges, Beach Soccer Festivals/Tournaments, and
Women’s Football Forums.
Other unique activities, included speeches by women’s
national team players and ambassadors, a women’s football
march around the city, presentations on the importance of
living active and healthy lifestyle, and more.
Football activities at World Football Day
Jamaica, one of the thirty-seven (37) Member Associations
celebrating the progress of Women’s Football staged the event
at the JFF Football Technical Centre at the UWI in Kingston.
Speakers, at the opening ceremony, included Shakira Duncan
and Stephanie Yee-Sing as well as 3rd Vice-President and
Chairman of the JFF’s Competitions Committee, Michael
Ricketts.
Shakira Duncan was a member of the 2006 National Under 19
Squad which finished fourth in the CONCACAF Tournament
and was a member of the 2014 Senior Women’s World Cup
Squad. Stephanie Yee-Sing was appointed Assistant FIFA
Referee in 2015. Both spoke of their journey as part of the
women’s football movement in Jamaica.
A participant goes through the drills on CONCACAF World
Football Day
This historic occasion was welcomed and enjoyed by one
hundred girls, ages 10-14 along with present and past players;
female referees; female coaches; female administrators;
sponsors of women’s football; supporters of women’s football
and more.
The activities for the day were unfolded under the direction
of JFF Director of Football, Vin Blaine and National Grassroots
Coordinator Andre Virtue and included grassroots activity;
small sided games; skills challenge and ended with a game
between the National Under-15 squad and an All Star team
selected from the other participants.
The day’s activities was expected to further drive confidence
in all those who play, administer and sponsor the sport with
the ultimate aim of not only Jamaica’s women’s football
blossoming to further success but in the CONCACAF
region.
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30 Goalkeeper
Coaches benefit
from CONCACAF
Course held in
Barbados
T
Group photo from CONCACAF Goalkeeping Course held in Barbados
hirty Goalkeepers coaches benefited from a three day
seminar under the CONCACAF Goalkeepers Coaching
Goalkeepers initiative held in Barbados, May 21-23 at the
Barbados Olympic Association & Wildey Astro Turf Field in
Barbados.
Echoing similar statements was course instructor Clainne
Plummer-Alleyne of Barbadian Heritage, “Goalkeeping has
been evolving for years. In the modern game, the game can be
approached differently because they are considered sweeperkeepers rather than just goalkeepers, so that
teams can now focus more on their offensive
schemes.”
The opening ceremony was held on Thursday
21st May 2015 at the Barbados Olympic
Association and was attended by members
of various media houses.
Plummer further noted that the lack of
goalkeeping education has hindered the
development of more goalkeepers to the
Caribbean. “The grassroots program of
CONCACAF will provide the federations in
the region with more coaching education
to improve the various aspects of coaching
Goalkeepers,” Plummer commented.
The Barbados Football Association (BFA)
is set to improving the development of
goalkeepers throughout the island with the
knowledge gained through CONCACAF
Goalkeepers’ Coaching Course and these
Coaches will be filtering what they learnt
back into the islands Football Clubs, Youth programs and
National teams.
Participant Richard Bynoe had this to say, “It felt really good to
be one of the participants in the first CONCACAF Goalkeeping
Coaching Course. It will benefit the country by having persons
with the knowledge of how to go about coaching goalkeepers
of all ages both male and female.”
Technical Director, Marcos Falopa, firmly believes that this
course is very important to lifting the standard of goalkeeping
in Barbados. “It is important for football here in this country
to develop goalkeepers. Every professional club in the world
has a goalkeeper coach at all levels from
youth to seniors - this is the way forward
as goalkeepers are very important and
“The Barbados
in modern football, changes the game
Football Association
tactically. If you can remember in the 2014
is set to improving
FIFA World Cup in Brazil, Netherlands
the development of
changed goalkeepers just for penalty kicks
goalkeepers throughout
in the quarter-finals and won,” said Falopa.
the island...”
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CONCACAF in its effort to continue the
development of football in the region
took a step forward in the evolution of
coaching and player development in
the region introducing the CONCACAF
Goal Keeping Course for the first time in
St Kitts and Nevis last in April. Barbados
is the second Member Association to
have received this benefit.
Spotlight on FIFA
Referee Dianne
Ferriera-James
G
uyanese-born former FIFA Referee Dianne FerrieraJames was the first female Referee from the Caribbean
to officiate in a FIFA Women’s World Cup final.
Ferriera-James was the woman entrusted with the whistle
at the 2002 FIFA Women’s World Cup Under-19 decider in
Edmonton, Canada, between the host country and the USA.
Dianne Ferriera-James Former Female FIFA Referee
She actually did three matches at this tournament, including
the Nigeria versus Japan and Japan versus Denmark fixtures,
along with the massive showdown between the two North
American powerhouses.
She is no stranger to the football pitch, having represented
her country as a central defender and captain of the Guyana
National Women’s Football team for three years.
Ferriera-James’ sporting abilities are, however, not confined to
football. She also dabbled in cricket, volleyball, athletics and
field hockey and incredibly, represented her country in all the
aforementioned disciplines. She captained both cricket and
volleyball teams for Guyana.
Ferriera-James was assisted by Mexican Assistant Referee
Isabel Tovar, Assistant Referee Katazyna Nadolska from
Poland and Romanian fourth official Christina Ionesco in the
championship game. Forty-four-year-old Ferriera-James,
who retired from active refereeing in
2012, has nonetheless decided to give
back to the game. She is currently the
Head of Refereeing in the Bahamas
and is also a Caribbean Football Union
(CFU) Referee Committee Member
as well as a Confederation of North
Central America and Caribbean
Association Football (CONCACAF) and
a CFU Referee Instructor.
In tracing her refereeing career, FerrieraJames told the CFU BEACON that “The
“Ferriera-James is also
first time former Canadian FIFA Referee
a Physical Education
Instructor Dino Soupliotis showed me a
photo of Referee Sonia Denoncourt, who
Teacher for Grades 7-12
is presently the Head of Refereeing for
students at the St Anne’s
CONCACAF, I told myself that my ability to
High School in Nassau,
officiate and my personality were similar
Bahamas. ”
to hers. I instantly took her as my role
model. Denoncourt was the first person I
met when I arrived in Canada in 2002 she
mentored me throughout the tournament
Ferriera-James is also a Physical Education Teacher for Grades
and to date has remained my friend, motivator and idol. I was
7-12 students at the St Anne’s High School in Nassau, Bahamas.
honoured to referee alongside her from 2002-2004.
The former police officer was introduced to refereeing by
former Guyanese FIFA Referee Gerald Laurie in 1997, and to
Ferriera-James also gave a bit of context about her evolvement
date she has no regrets. She took her responsibilities very
in the game: “I was born in Bartica, Guyana. Generally life as a
seriously, performed at her optimum and was subsequently
Referee is difficult everywhere, whether you are a male of a
appointed FIFA Referee in 1998, where she remained on the
female. I only officiated at men’s games in Guyana. This served
list until her retirement in 2012.
as a motivation to be able to manage twenty-two players
equipped with two cards and a whistle. But I established
Ferriera-James is a past student of the Bartica Secondary
a reputation among coaches and players and used my
School in Guyana, the Salutatorian Omega College, and the
personality to manage players and control the games.”
Bahamas Bachelor of Business Administration. She is presently
completing her MBA with Walden University, Minneapolis
She added: “I was called many names, whistled and jeered at
(USA).
- an experience lived by all referees - but I enjoyed my games.
7
REFEREE......cont’d
“When I made history getting the appointment at the FIFA
Women’s World Cup Finals in 2002, I was very excited because
it was an opportunity to show that Caribbean referees, and
in particular, women, could reach great heights. I was proud
to realize that all the hard work that I had put in and the
confidence of CFU selection of me had paid off.”
In reflecting on her career in the middle, Ferriera-James cannot
help relishing the memories of some of the really big games,
such as the Canada Finals experience back in 2002, with its
spectator celebrations and the skilful levels of players.
Dianne Ferriera-James and other Officials
“One has to have strong nerves being in front of such a large
crowd (Nigeria vs Japan). I spoke to myself many times to help
me stay relaxed and focused. The best game of my refereeing
career is refereeing the extra time of the 2004 Olympic
Women’s final in Athens Greece (USA vs Brazil).
She asserts that the future for female refs is bright, with
new structures in place to ensure uniformity among officials
by providing resources in administrators, assessors and
instructors.
“I would encourage other women to take up this profession.
It is a great career to build on. Football offers referees an
opportunity to see the world, meet great people and enjoy
cultures that they may never be able to do with personal
funds. I have travelled to many countries in Europe, Asia, the
Caribbean and the CONCACAF region.”
“I dreamt of being in the finals and I did. With USA in the finals
rarely would a CONCACAF referee be appointed, but I was
appointed fourth official after an outstanding tournament.
The referee picked up an injury and could not continue and I
replaced her,” she related.
“My worst game was in Panama in 2010 at the CONCACAF
U20 Finals between Canada and Mexico. I lost concentration
and missed a penalty. Never be too relaxed you become
complacent,” she advised.
“Spectators add flair to the sport of football,” she said. “I love
to referee with huge crowds, lots of noise and celebration.
Despite being the most hated person in the stadium I love the
fans as much as the players do. Referees do not intentionally
go out to make mistakes, but… are humans and will make
mistakes. However, we train hard to keep mistakes at a
minimum. The assessors and the trainers are doing a great
job with the female referees in the Caribbean,” Ferriera-James
further asserted.
Former FIFA Referee Gerald Laurie was her initial trainer and
mentor, along with former FIFA Referee Evaroy Babb (now
deceased). Canadian Dino Soupliotis made Ferriera-James a
world-class ref and mentored her for several years.
As a female in a man’s world Ferriera-James had to earn
respect from everyone but being a police officer at the time
contributed as well. She built a reputation among players and
coaches with effective game management skills.
In concluding, she said: “There is still room for improvement
and I would like to see the CFU placing more emphasis on
practical refereeing and education in football - not just on the
pitch, but also off the pitch. Most referees have great career
jobs. Caribbean referees do it as a job or as a way of getting
financial gains, as well as to learn acceptable attitudes and
behaviours as professionals in an amateur sport.”
According to this sporting stalwart, female referees are now
experiencing the popularity, preparation and hype as their male
counterparts. Priority workshops/seminars, medical testing,
television and resources help make them better prepared due
to the tireless effort of then FIFA Head of Refereeing, Sonia
Denoncourt.
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For further information please contact the CFU General Secretariat,
Communications Department
The Towers - 10th Floor • 25 Dominica Drive, Kingston 5. Jamaica
Tel: +1(876) 754-4411 / 4657 • Fax: +1(876) 906-2973
Email: media@cfufootball.org, info@cfufootball.org
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