Haitian girls in practice before their Wednesday night game. At left is star player, Nérilia Mondésir, who plays for
French club Montpellier HSC. Haiti Football Federation
Region’s girls lose Olympic
qualifying opener against USA
Caribbean L 46 ife, Jan. 31-Feb. 6, 2020
pre-World Cup camp.
She is among several changes
from the squad that lost a fivematch
series to India last November
with Lee-Ann Kirby, Britney Cooper,
Shamillia Connell and Cherry-Ann
Fraser all selected for the February
10 to March 8 campaign.
Veteran Stacy-Ann King, Kyshona
Knight, Natasha McLean and Shabika
Gajnabi have all been omitted
from the squad.
Captain Stafanie Taylor is also fit
again and back at the helm.
Guyanese Fraser is the only
uncapped player. Trinidadian Kirby,
32, played the last six of her international
matches 12 years ago and her
compatriot Cooper played for West
Indies last year but missed the Indies
series.
West Indies will play in Group
B alongside England, South Africa,
Pakistan and Thailand.
Champions in 2016, the Windies
reached the semi-finals of the last
tournament played in the Caribbean
before going out at the hands of eventual
champions Australia.
“I’m the link between the athletes
and the decision makers,” said Pompey,
adding that this also gives her a seat
on the International Olympic Committee
athletes’ commission and the Association
of National Olympic Committees
athletes’ commission.
Pompey, an extraordinary athlete,
says she has always wanted to have an
impact and give back to sports. “Once
I got into coaching and running the
meet, a few things became more apparent
to me. I wanted to do something
meaningful on the long-term.”
Pompey said the commission is trying
to carry out new ways to engage
athletes from smaller countries, make
sure they are involved, and have a platform
for their voices to be heard. Important
input comes from these underresourced
countries, she said.
“One of the things we’ve done the
last few years has been to hold an athletes’
forum, which brings at least two
athletes from every member country
together,” she said. “We put together an
agenda aimed at figuring out what everybody’s
needs were and how they felt
those needs could best be met looking
at our overall resources and what we can
add to their situations or make things
Continued from Page 45
saw Skerritt elected as president in
March 2019.
The CWI president had reminded
West Indies fans that all players will
be available for selection including
Bravo, which augurs well for the
regional team.
He said from the beginning that
“our radar screen was going to have
an open door policy... the fact that
Bravo has come back with the kind of
world class reputation and performances
better for them.”
With the success of the annual Aliann
Pompey Invitational in Georgetown,
that saw over 50 athletes from across
the globe vying for top spots in 17 track
and field events, the star athlete has
blazed a trail for many up and coming
track & field runners during her more
than twenty-year career.
The top sprinter, who also won silver
and bronze medals at the Commonwealth
Games, and holds the South
American indoor record for the 400m,
Pompey, after migrating to the United
States, at age 14, graduated from Manhattan
College in the Bronx, before
putting all of our energies into competition.
behind him really just makes
the West Indies team stronger.”
Skerritt, who reiterated that he
does not get involved in the selection
of teams, said he was glad to see that
Bravo performed at a high level.
Guyana’s Aliann Pompey.
Associated Press / Anja Niedringhaus
Continued from Page 45
Continued from Page 45
Bravo
Panam Sports Athletes’ Commission
Stafanie
By George Alleyne
The Caribbean began its quest for
a place in the women’s Tokyo Olympics
2020 football competition with
Haiti going down to the USA 0-4 at
BBVA Compass Stadium, Texas, Tuesday
night.
The Haitians went into the game
missing two of their starters, Angeline
Gustave with right knee pain; and Tabita
Joseph with right ankle pain. They
had to be replaced by Gaëlle Dumas and
Maudeline Moryl.
This is the group stage of the tournament
where the top two teams to
emerge out of the two sets of four sides
will go into the semifinals. The winner
of the final and runner-up on Feb. 09
will be the two Confederation of North,
Central American and Caribbean Association
Football teams going to Japan
for the Olympics.
Haiti has to meet Costa Rica and
Panama in the other two Group A
encounters.
Jamaica and St. Kitts and Nevis
are the other two Caribbean teams in
these qualifiers after emerging top in a
regional tournament last year. They are
in Group A.
Jamaica’s Reggae Girlz were set to
play Mexico; St. Kitts to take on Canada
Wednesday night.