Addressing a media briefing last Tuesday morning at the Methodist Church Hall in Kingstown, Williams expressed satisfaction thus far.

“We are well on the way with our preparations… Our preparations are being conducted very well thus far … They guys are very motivated … They (are) working hard and the competition in the training camp is at a high level,” Williams related.

Staying safe with his predictions, Williams quipped, “I don’t want to say much about what to expect, but I always believe whenever you prepare well it becomes easier”.

Williams noted that the players are being finetuned, as they will be engaged in extensive training during a two-week live-in camp at the Technical Centre at Brighton.

Williams’ charges are in Group C and are poised to face Puerto Rico on November 6, at 4 pm. On November 8, the Vincentians will oppose Bermuda from 7 pm and on November 8, they take on Barbados.

The other groups are Group A, which involve Curacao, Grenada, Dominica, Saint Maarten and the British Virgin Islands, while the Dominican Republic, Belize, St Lucia, Saint Martin and Anguilla are lodged in Group B.

Occupying Group D are Nicaragua, Guyana, Cayman Islands and the US Virgin Islands.

The four group winners will advance to the 2022 CONCACAF Under-20 championships, joining the top 16 ranked teams.

The ranked teams are the USA, Mexico, Costa Rica, Canada, Honduras, Panama, Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago, Haiti, St Kitts and Nevis, Aruba, Suriname, Cuba, Antigua and Barbuda, El Salvador and Guatemala.

They will be divided into four groups of four, with the three top teams in each group making it to the elimination stage. All knock-out stage matches will be played in a single match direct elimination format.

The two finalists will qualify for the FIFA Men’s Under-20 World Cup in Indonesia 2023 and the 2024 Paris Summer Olympic Games. The two losing semi-finalists will also guarantee their participation in the FIFA Men’s Under-20 World Cup Indonesia 2023.

Making this clear was president of the SVGFF, Carl Dickson, as he spoke at a media briefing put on by the SVGFF last Tuesday at the Methodist Church Hall in Kingstown.

Dickson thus pointed out the role his organisation is playing in the education process about vaccination, with the setting up of a task force.

“We have engaged our Covid task force, to keep our eight national teams updated on the information that is available… They have been doing a wonderful job, going to all our national teams; keeping them informed of the vaccination,” Dickson said.

Dickson added that as a result of the work of the task force, most players on the current national Under-20 male team have taken the decision to be vaccinated.

Dickson disclosed that the process will be taken to the affiliates and other stakeholders in due course.

“It is important for us at the executive level to keep our affiliates abreast of the science; keep affiliates abreast of the impact of the science, what it is saying … The sooner we conclude our discussion and move the discussion forward in terms of how we are going to get to that particular stage, it would be the best for all our stakeholders,” the SVGFF head man related.

“We are not advocating for mandatory vaccination… We are providing the information to all our national teams and stakeholders, our affiliates and we are hoping that the science would prove itself successful in this particular drive,” Dickson reinforced.

The SVGFF president echoed his organisation’s regret that football at the local level has to be halted, but is hopeful that some level of normalcy returns so that the sport can resume its activities and competitions.

Dickson declared, “Vaccination is a front burner question across St Vincent and the Grenadines, at the administrative level we are seeing more and more the impact of the pandemic on our activities and we are not unmindful that the vaccination drive would assist us greatly in terms of continuity in what we are doing and we are also not unmindful of the fact that it is less costly to operate and administrate the sport in a vaccinated environment”.