T&T U-15s make debut against Rep Bank XI on Saturday; Latapy credits enthusiastic squad

The Trinidad and Tobago National Under-15 Team will make their first appearance on Saturday 15 April as they face a Republic Bank Invitational Under-15 XI from 6:30pm at the Ato Boldon Stadium in Couva.

The exhibition match will mark the opening of the 2017 Republic Bank National Youth League, which is scheduled to run for three months and has been approved as the official youth competition for the Trinidad and Tobago Football Association (TTFA). Once more, the competition—which involves more than 100 clubs—will be organised by All Sports Promotion.

Photo: A San Juan Jabloteh player (right) loses his footing in the 2015 Republic Bank National Youth Cup Under-13 third place play off at the Larry Gomes Stadium in Malabar. (Courtesy Sinead Peters/Wired868)
Photo: A San Juan Jabloteh player (right) loses his footing in the 2015 Republic Bank National Youth Cup Under-13 third place play off at the Larry Gomes Stadium in Malabar.
(Courtesy Sinead Peters/Wired868)

For the National Under-15 Team, it is their first step to the FIFA 2019 Under-17 World Cup—even before the world governing body has decided on the host nation.

Trinidad and Tobago were eliminated at the very first hurdle of the 2017 Under-17 World Cup qualifying competition last year, as they failed to get out of their Caribbean group on home soil. However, coach Russell Latapy, who kept his post as head of the technical staff despite the poor showing, hopes to do better this time.


Latapy said his team is looking forward to Saturday’s runout.

“This match will provide us with a good opportunity to have the boys in a game environment,” Latapy told the TTFA Media, “as obviously they are eager to play as we have been engaged in training sessions for a good part of this year already.

“The preparations have been ongoing and the interest and the willingness among the boys to put in the effort and take things on board in training has been commendable.”

Fans on Saturday are asked to contribute an admission fee of TT$10 which will go towards the preparation of the Under-15 Team. Former National Under-23 coach and Naparima College and Club Sando coach, Angus Eve, will steer the Republic Bank XI.

Photo: Trinidad and Tobago National Under-17 Team coach Russell Latapy (background) looks on at a national training session. (Courtesy Chevaughn Christopher/Wired868)
Photo: Trinidad and Tobago National Under-17 Team coach Russell Latapy (background) looks on at a national training session.
(Courtesy Chevaughn Christopher/Wired868)

Next on the agenda for Latapy’s young team is the 2017 CONCACAF Boys Under-15 Championship at the IMG Academy in Bradenton, Florida from 13-19 August. All 40 eligible CONCACAF member associations are expected to participate.

The Republic Bank National Youth League kicks off on Saturday 22 April in the Queens Park Savannah.

More from Wired868
“I fought for the red jersey!” Molino reviews time with each T&T coach

“[…] Many times, I didn’t have money to go to training. I used to sell bottles so I could go. Read more

T&T U-17 Women chase milestone in recycled Capelli kit, TTFA mum on farce

The Trinidad and Tobago Women’s National Under-17 Team will be playing for a spot in the Concacaf Under-17 Championship tomorrow, Read more

Cooper: “We should be competitive in 2025”; T&T U-15s close with 3-0 win over Qatar

The Trinidad and Tobago Boys’ National Under-15 Team closed off their 2023 Concacaf Championship adventure yesterday with a 3-0 whipping Read more

Trinidad and Tobago stun Costa Rica 2-0 for first ever Concacaf U-15 win

Trinidad and Tobago managed their first ever scalp in a Concacaf Under-15 Championship match today, and it was a big Read more

Ten-man T&T U-15s edged by P/Rico, as short-changed Warriors suffer again

Trinidad and Tobago were again made to rue missed opportunities as they fell 2-1 to Puerto Rico in their second Read more

Daniel converts penalty, but T&T U-15s fall 2-1 to Honduras in Concacaf opener

The Trinidad and Tobago Boys’ National Under-15 Team started and finished brightly against Honduras in Concacaf Championship action tonight, but Read more

About Editor

Check Also

“I fought for the red jersey!” Molino reviews time with each T&T coach

“[…] Many times, I didn’t have money to go to training. I used to sell …

78 comments

  1. Saw the game – that group has allot of work to do…

  2. T&T came from a goal down to win 3-1 with two second half goals. Report tomorrow from Sean Taylor.

  3. Any one know how the team looked???

  4. Definitely a positive that the U-15 program is once again active

  5. Senior team= fail
    U17 = record breaking fail.
    Hey let’s try him again with the u15…third time the charm.

  6. Until All Sports Promotions say so it is not….

  7. It seems that yuh now get up or what eh, well brush your teeth and wash your face and then stroll back and read the previous comments nah man. Hassan C Araujo. You really good yes. hahahahaha

  8. Who said that……what league the FLOW YPL and Republic youth league

  9. And that same rule should also apply the same for the Coaches as I read where the same players cannot play in different leagues in our sweet country. Them really good yes.

  10. Mango breds Trini land right now have too many negative things flying around . I only looking for solutions now to move on…

  11. hahahahahaha He is the same like the bootleg Coach Tom Seinfelt who was hired to Coach the Soca Worries, full of plenty pretty words eh and is very limited with his Coaching and always getting fired wherever he coaches in the professional league eh, but on a serious note the Coaches who are Coaching in the professional league shouldn’t be coaching in any other leagues, give all the other Coaches their chances and food to put on the table to man. steeuuppss. Them really good yes.

  12. Ey Mango…..you really good yes….

  13. Mix it’s up and match it up lol….and did you notice that during the world cup game is footwear was puma and the rest of the team used Adidas

  14. Btw, someone made an astute observation. Anybody noticed that Latapy is wearing a Joma top but an Adidas short pants in that photo at a national training session?

  15. well said, acknowledgement Hannibal……

  16. Any idea on the Rep Bank XI since I would hope the best players from last year would be involved with the U-15 national team?

  17. It will do Russell to keep the disappointment and all the reasons in the rear view and side views so that the front view is always configuring, assembling, and configuring, and on and on. A backward design plan is my suggestion to Russell, and this begins with 1. A frontal focus and clearly chosen target, 2. A backward review, 3. A present-day account of all the functioning parts, and 4. A thorough, continuous, and flexible work-through guided by continuous assessments and evaluations. This must be done in detail about each player as well, especially those who he had under his recent care. Learn about each of the players for as the SSM motto states, “The more we get to know you as a person, the better we can treat you as a patient”, in this case, player.

  18. This is a start…just let us support these young men and their coaches…..

  19. So wouldn’t this Repoblc bank U 15 tounament interfere with the Flow Youth professional league U 15 tournament that is currently playing?

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.