The Bahamas men’s national soccer team is in its final preparations for its first qualifying match for the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022. The team hosts St. Kitts & Nevis at the Thomas A. Robinson National Stadium here in The Bahamas, on Saturday March 27, starting at 7 p.m.
Like other national and club squads in the country, The Bahamas’ Junkanoo Boys, as they are called, have had to train under immense circumstances due to the restrictions brought on by the presence of the COVID 19 pandemic. In March 2020, when lockdowns and shutdowns were instituted, the squad was coming off its first round matches of the CONCACAF (Confederation of North, Central American and Caribbean Association Football) Nations League, finishing with a 3-1 win/loss record and advancing to the next round of play.
After a six-month layoff, the team got special permission from the Competent Authority on the advice of Ministry of Health officials to resume training under strict guidelines and safety measures. Advanced training would have only been permitted if there were no reported cases of COVID-19 and if the agreed protocols were followed. Thankfully, there was no outbreak of COVID-19 during the sessions.
Fast forward to today. Under the guidance of Team Bahamas Head Coach Nesley Jean and his management team, the squad returned from Bradenton Florida, on Monday, March 8, where they competed in two FIFA (International Federation of Association Football) approved friendly matches against Bermuda.
The games were very competitive as both coaches, Nesley Jean and Kyle Lightbourne, sought to identify and select the best players available to take into their qualifying matches.
Under rigorous COVID-19 testing protocols, the team lost the first match 3-0 with Coach Jean making quite a number of substitutions in order to view all of the players in a competitive environment. In the second match, the game ended in a scoreless draw. Team Bahamas squandered quite a number of chances to score and record a win.
Chosen to represent The Bahamas against St. Kitts & Nevis are: Dylan Pritchard, Troy Pinder, Marcel Joseph, Evelt Julmis, Terry Delancy, Peter Julmis, Happy Hall, Ian Lowe, Lesly St. Fleur, Cameron Hepple, Michael Butler, Isiah Collie, Logan Russell, Alexander Thompson, Elijah Mitchell, Valentino Hanna, Ambry Moss, Jean Francois, Jacob Charles and Nicholas Lopez.
The manager of the team is Larry Minns and the assistant team manager is Samuel Thibaud. Jean will coach the team and Avery Kemp will serve as the goalkeeper coach. Eugena Patton is the team’s physiotherapist.
The team will train twice on Mondays, from 6 p.m-7:30 a.m. and from 6:30 p.m.-9 p.m.; on Tuesdays, from 6:30 p.m-9 p.m.; twice on Wednesdays, from 6 p.m-7:30 a.m. and from 6:30 p.m.-9 p.m.; twice on Thursdays, from 6 p.m.-7:30 a.m. and from 6:30 p.m.-9 p.m.; and twice on Fridays from 6 p.m.-7:30 a.m. and from 6:30-9 p.m. – all at the Roscow A.L. Davies Soccer Field. Training sessions are closed to the general public due to restrictions in place from the approved COVID-19 guidelines and protocols.
Upon returning to The Bahamas from the friendly matches in Bradenton, the squad had to undergo the Bahamas government’s mandatory five-day testing protocols, and every member received a negative result – validating the protocols put in place by FIFA, the Bahamas Football Association (BFA) and The Bahamas Ministry of Health.
The squad is now increasing the intensity of its training in preparation for the home games against St. Kitts & Nevis. Afterwards, the team will travel to the Dominican Republic to take on Guyana. Due to COVID-19 restrictions in Guyana, the game had to be moved to a jurisdiction where the restriction levels allowed the game to be played.
The match against St. Kitts & Nevis will be played in an empty stadium so as to conform to health and safety standards and prevent the spread of the virus.
The BFA will arrange a livestream of the match, so that soccer enthusiast can cheer on their compatriots. The public is invited to support the team by logging onto to one of streaming sites on Facebook, YouTube and the BFA’s website: www.bahamasfa.net.
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