The USVI/Cuba Olympic qualifying matchup set for today has been pushed to 8:00 p.m. due to traveling delays, the U.S. Virgin Islands Soccer Association has announced. The first round of Olympic qualifying games will be hosted at the new Bethlehem Soccer Complex on St. Croix.
Tonight’s game sees the USVI Men’s U-23 National Team playing against Cuba. The second game follows on Friday, July 19 with a faceoff between Barbados and Cuba – and the final game, pitting USVI against Barbados, is scheduled for Sunday, July 21.
All games aside from tonight’s matchup will start 5:30 p.m. Tickets are $10 for adults and $5 for children under 12, and can be bought at the door on game days starting at 4:30 p.m.
The winner of the group will advance to the next stage of qualifying games where two spots are available for the region in the 2020 Olympics.
“What this means to us as an Association, our players, and fans is a hope and a dream,” National Team Assistant Coach and Association 1st Vice-President Joseph Limeburner said. “I remember myself as a former national player when we played countries like Antigua and Haiti on St. Croix and struggled because we did not have a facility there. Our games were not at the level they should be – but to be able now to give our athletes in the U.S. Virgin Islands the opportunity to play at an international level right here at home is beyond what I could have ever imagined.”
Limeburner added that next week’s games position the USVI team for the “next stage” of competition.
“We want to move up,” he said. “Now, it’s time to take it to the next level and really create our own identity – and, with our new facility, I think that identity is going to push through. What we’re looking forward now to getting there, walking on that field and once we enter, our hope and dream is that all of the hard work we’ve put in, shines through. To get these guys here, onto the field, and ready to take the victory – that’s the dream.”
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