BELIZE CITY, Thurs. Nov. 29, 2018– We’ve waited a long time for this one, and finally this year, the Football Federation of Belize (FFB) secured the FIFA funding, and is delivering on a promise to conduct nation-wide youth football championships, which will help to showcase as well as enhance the development of our young football talents.

Male U-15, Female U-17 and Male U-17 club tournaments were first conducted in each of 10 “football districts” of the country, namely – the 6 geographical districts of Belize, Cayo, Orange Walk, Corozal, Stann Creek and Toledo; along with 4 other identified football areas, namely: San Pedro, Belmopan, Benque Viejo and Mid-South (the Placencia area).

The 10 club champions in each tournament category were then paired off for home-and-away best-of-two games series, the winners to be determined by established competition criteria, e.g. points, goal difference, away-goal rule, etc.

The first round of games were played on the weekend of November 10-11 due to some postponements due to weather, the second round of games were shared between November 17 and November 24.

Of the 10 teams in each category, the top 8 –  the 5 series winners along with the next 3 teams with the best “numbers” have now qualified to move forward and play in one-smash knockout quarterfinals this weekend.

Below are the game results (home team listed first) from the 10-team home-and-away qualifying round in each category (legend:  bmp – Belmopan; sc – Stann Creek; bnq – Benque Viejo; cyo – Cayo; sp – San Pedro; bze – Belize District; czl – Corozal; ow – Orange Walk; mdsth – Mid-South; tol – Toledo).

Male U-15

Round 1 – Benque Z-Boyz (bnq) 0-0 Heartz FC (cyo); Revolution FC (bmp) 4-0 New Site FC (sc); Independence Juniors (mdsth) 1-6 Julian Cho Technical (tol); Corozal Invaders (czl) 2-0 Vibes Alive International (ow); Sea Wolves (sp) 0-0 Hattieville Brown Stars (bze)* (*this game was not played).

Round 2 – Julian Cho Technical (tol) 3-1 Independence Juniors (mdsth); Revolution FC (bmp) 5-1 New Site FC (sc); Heartz FC (cyo) 0-2 Benque Z-Boyz (bnq); Vibes Alive Int’l (ow) 1-2 Corozal Invaders (czl); Hattieville Brown Stars (bze) 3-3 Sea Wolves (sp); PENALTIES – Hattieville Brown Stars (bze) 4-1 Sea Wolves (sp).

Female U-17

Round 1 – Mopan Technical (bnq) 0-16 Revolution FC (cyo); Compre Girls (bmp) 3-0 Silk Grass Divas (sc); San Juan Scorpions (mdsth) 4-1 Julian Cho Warriors (tol); San Pedro High (sp) 2-3 St. Catherine Academy (bze); Calcutta Strikers (czl) 1-5 Vibes Alive Int’l (ow).

Round 2 – San Juan Scorpions (mdsth) 7-3 Julian Cho Warriors (tol); Compre Girls (bmp) 5-0 Silk Grass Divas (sc); Vibes Alive Int’l (ow) 2-2 Calcutta Strikers (czl); St. Catherine Academy (bze) 0-1 San Pedro High (sp); Revolution FC (cyo) (by default) 3-0 Mopan Technical (bnq).  (NOTE: SCA and San Pedro High were tied in total goals, but the “away goal rule” favored SCA, who scored 3 goals on the road to 1 for San Pedro.)

Male U-17

Round 1 – Verdes Juniors (bnq) 1-2 Heartz FC (cyo); Compre Boys (bmp) 2-2 Pomona Strikers (sc); Bella Vista FC (mdsth) 8-0 San Pedro Columbia (tol); San Pedro Pirates (sp) 4-5 Warriors FC (Rush) (bze); Chunox FC (czl) 0-4 Centaur Cable Connection (ow).

Round 2 – Bella Vista FC (mdsth) 7-1 San Pedro Columbia (tol); Pomona Strikers (sc) 1-4 Compre Boys (bmp); Heartz FC (cyo) 2-0 Verdes Juniors (bnq); Warriors FC (Rush) (bze) 5-2 San Pedro Pirates (sp); Centaur Cable Connection (ow) 1-4 Chunox FC (czl).

KNOCKOUT QUARTERFINALS

Due to time constraints, the quarterfinals will be one-game knockouts this weekend.

Male U-15 Quarterfinals schedule:

Saturday, December 1
12:00 noon – (M-U15) Revolution FC vs Vibes Alive International – Isidoro Beaton Stadium
1:00 p.m. – (M-U15) Julian Cho Technical vs Heartz FC – Victor Sanchez Stadium
2:00 p.m. – (M-U15) Corozal Invaders vs Sea Wolves FC – Ricalde Stadium
3:00 p.m. – (M-U15) Benque Z Boys vs Hattieville Brown Stars – Marshalleck Stadium

Female U-17 Quarterfinals schedule:

Saturday, December 1
10:00 a.m. – (F-U17) Compre Girls vs Calcutta Strikers – Isidoro Beaton Stadium
2:00 p.m. – (F-U17) Vibes Alive International vs St. Catherine Academy – People’s Stadium
2:00 p.m. – (F-U17) San Juan Scorpions vs San Pedro High – M.A. Stadium

Sunday, December 2
11:00 a.m. – (F-U17) Revolution FC vs Julian Cho Warriors – Santa Elena Sporting Complex
Male U-17 Quarterfinals schedule:

Saturday, December 1
2:00 p.m. – (M-U17) Compre Boys vs Centaur Cable Connection – Isidoro Beaton Stadium
4:00 p.m. – (M-U17) Bella Vista FC vs Verdes Juniors – M.A. Stadium

Sunday, December 2
1:00 p.m. – (M-U17) Heartz FC vs Chunox FC – Santa Elena Sporting Complex
3:00 p.m. – (M-U17) Warriors FC (Rush) vs Pomona Strikers – MCC Grounds