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Team Bahamas returns from hiatus to play Grenada on Sept. 20
Simba FrenchSend an emailSeptember 5, 2023 138 2 minute readFacebookTwitterLinkedInShare via Email
The Bahamas senior women’s national soccer team has been ramping up its training session in preparation for the inaugural Confederation of North, Central American and Caribbean Association Football (CONCACAF) Women’s Gold Cup.
The team, making a comeback on the international scene, will host Grenada on Wednesday, September 20 in New Providence, and they have been looking forward to that match. They have been practicing for most of the summer under head coach Ricquea Bain. Some of the players are off to school, but Bain said those players will be home by September 13, and they will stage a friendly against Turks and Caicos, September 14 and 15.
“Preparation has been okay at home. We have been working hard with the girls. A portion of the core group of players are away so it has been a little difficult but we have been making it. We are looking at our college players to come home and add to the squad,” Bain said.
Bain embraced the opportunity for the ladies as they return to action for the first time since playing against Turks and Caicos in August 2021.
“It is good to have the opportunity for the senior women to play,” Bain said. “We finally have a competition for the seniors. The women now have something to look forward to. We are looking to give a good showing in our first game in Grenada.”
The team has a mixture of veterans and first-timers, according to Bain, one of the players play on the under-15 national team.
“The majority of the players have come up through the development program. Some of them have been training from as young as 13 on the national team so we are looking for a good showing out of those ones,” Bain said.
One of the veterans on the team is Karen Wert. She said the full team is not here as yet but they have been doing what they can. The center midfielder who can also play right back is happy for the opportunity to play on the women’s team.
“We have been training hard. Practices have been good, training almost every night of the week. A lot of players are away, which makes it difficult because we do not get to train fully as a team. I am looking at doing whatever I can. I’ll play wherever they need me to play and I am looking to do my best and give it my all,” Wert said.
Valtinique Simmons, who helped the C.R. Walker Knights win a national high school soccer title and a GSSSA (Government Secondary Schools Sports Association) title this past season, is the youngest member of the team at age 14. The striker is looking to put the ball at the back of the net for Team Bahamas.
“I was nervous at first but as I keep coming out to practice my confidence went up. I’m focused and worked and made the team. Training with the older girls was a little intimidating, but I’m ready,” Simmons said.
After the match against Grenada on September 20, The Bahamas will head to Grenada to play an away match on Sunday September 24. In October, the team will play against the US Virgin Islands (USVI) on the road. That match will be played on Sunday October 29. The final match of this round is scheduled to be played in The Bahamas on Wednesday November 29.
The tournament presents teams from North and Central America and the Caribbean with an opportunity to qualify for, and compete, for the prestigious CONCACAF Women’s Gold Cup.