BELMOPAN, Sun. Nov. 25, 2012
Belmopan Football Talent School Selection won Gold in the Dominican Republic U-15 Football Tournament today, November 25.
The team, coached by Kenneth Budna and Santiago Valencia, went undefeated throughout the tournament. Below is a breakdown of games played:
Game 1: Belize (4 goals) vs Dominican Republic Northern Selection (3 goals); Randy Serrano – 4 goals for Belize.
Game 2: Belize (2 goals) vs Dominican Republic National “A” Selection (1 goal); Randy Serrano – 1 goal for Belize; Marlon Garcia – 1 goal for Belize.
Game 3: Belize (2 goals) vs Guadalajara Mexican Selection (1 goal); Dmitri Fabro – 2 goals for Belize.
Game 4: Belize (2 goals) vs Dominican Republic National “A” Section (1 goal); Randy Serrano – 1 goal for Belize; Marlon Garcia – 1 goal for Belize.
Technical Director for the FFB Renan Couoh could not make the trip due to commitment with the FFB as a result of FIFA officials being in the country. The Belize Selection left for the Dominican Republic on Tuesday, November 20, and will return to Belize on Tuesday, November 27, at 11:50 a.m. on board American Airlines flight no. 2110. A press conference follows immediately at the VIP lounge of the PGIA in order to recognize the tremendous achievement accomplished by the Selection. This is a historic win for Belize since it is the first time Belize has won an International football tournament.
– FFB press release –
(Ed. Note: From our understanding, the team travelled under the banner of the Belmopan based Youth With A Mission (YWAM) program under director Santiago Valencia who was coach of the team that travelled to Santo Domingo. The team was mostly based on “at risk kids” from the Belmopan area, but also included players from Dangriga, Belize City and Orange Walk Town, and trained at the FFB Field under FFB Technical Director Renan Couoh. (See our article “YWAM Belize U-15 prepares for football quadrangular in Santo Domingo” in our issue for Sunday, November 11.) The FFB-YWAM partnership has worked well for Belize football. Congratulations to all, especially our youth, on a great accomplishment!)