00:00In the CONCACAF Under-17 Championships held at the Hasty Crawford Stadium, Trinidad and
00:05Tobago was knocked out of the tournament after losing to Barbados and Mexico despite wins
00:10against the St. Martin and St. Martin.
00:13Their 6-1 and 6-0 defeats to Peru in their warm-up matches also raised some red flags
00:18before the tournament.
00:20Former national player Radanfa Abubakar, who now coaches DB Dragons, is disappointed in
00:25the fact that national youth teams can't seem to cross this bridge.
00:29This is disappointing.
00:30It feels like we're spinning top and mud, like we're just doing the same things over
00:33and over and obviously getting the same results, so that's not going to change unless we change
00:37the processes behind preparation for these tournaments and stuff.
00:40So what is the solution?
00:42It's got to start with the grassroots.
00:44If you put a proper foundation in place with kids, you know, just entering their teens and
00:48that kind of thing, then you have a chance later on.
00:50You can't make a player when they're already 14, 15, they already have these bad habits,
00:54so good habits, hopefully.
00:56It's too late when you try to do too much at that stage.
00:59So I think, as you said, the long-term strategy would be to put more effort in the grassroots
01:04and put a proper structure and foundation in some of these players.
01:09But that takes investment.
01:10That takes time.
01:11It's not very glamorous.
01:12And what's the right age to start playing football?
01:15Head coach of Trinity MOCA and MOCA Lions, Marlon Minguel, believes it should be before age 10.
01:21Yes, I would say.
01:22But it should not be that way.
01:23It should not be.
01:23Football should start at ages of six, let's say eight for the latest.
01:27He has seen the growth of his team post-COVID-19 and believes that the North Zone youth football
01:33tournament is a good start towards getting better results at the youth level.
01:37Apart from that, he thinks it's important to get footballers to play consistently.
01:41There's something they call in football contact hours.
01:44So after the SSFL season, you would usually have either the NLCL tournament or the Republic
01:51Cup.
01:51Seeing the Republic Cup, there's none this year with the TTFA bringing in this league here.
01:57Giving the youth center more competition to play, more contact hours.
02:00That will only improve their development as young players and which will obviously improve
02:05the overall standard of football in the country.
02:07Abu Bakr indicated Debe Dragons started just after COVID and says it's a team founded on
02:13the basis of charity and to roar against the ill effects of misguided human activity.
02:18This is my opportunity to give back, following in my father's footsteps of that humanitarian
02:23spirit that he had and just a way for them to keep out of trouble too.
02:27Instead, Abu Bakr is hoping some of them could shake up the ranks by being part of a national
02:32youth team at a World Cup.
02:34Sergio Dufour, TV6 Sport.
02:37Spentato.
02:38I hope some people have a great message, Felipe.
02:39Some people who know the behaviour of the Minnesota Gente Base
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