Simba FrenchSend an emailMay 20, 2022 82 2 minute readFacebookTwitterLinkedInShare via Email

The Bahamas Football Association (BFA) has named a 22-member senior men’s national soccer team to kick off its 2022 CONCACAF (Confederation of North, Central American and Caribbean Association Football) Nations League campaign on Friday, June 3, with a home match against St. Vincent and the Grenadines. That match will be played at Thomas A. Robinson National Stadium here in Nassau, Bahamas.

Suiting up for The Bahamas on the defensive line are Lesly St. Fleur, Jean Francois, Troy Pinder, Evelt Julmis, Kenaz Swain, Derrick Ferguson and Quinton Carey. Playing the midfield positions are Alexiou Cartwright, Roen Davis, Michael Massey, Nathan Wells, Christopher Rahming, William Bayles, Marcel Joseph, Logan Russell and Nicolas Lopez. Looking to put the ball in the back of the net in the forward positions are Wood Julmis, Jordin Wilson and Omari Bain.

The custodians between the goal posts are Julio Jemison, Ian Lowe, and Vance Wheaton.

Nesly Jean is the head coach. He will be assisted by Kevin Davies and Avery Kemp, and Larry Minns is team manager.

The Bahamas was promoted to League B by virtue of winning Group B in League C back in the 2019 edition of the Nations League. They won the group by going undefeated in a group that included Bonaire and the British Virgin Islands (BVI). The Bahamas won three games and drew once.

For this Nations League competition, they were drawn into Group C along with Trinidad and Tobago, Nicaragua and St. Vincent and the Grenadines.

It will be a busy June for the senior men’s national soccer team. After playing St. Vincent and the Grenadines on June 3, they will fly to Trinidad and Tobago to play that nation on Monday, June 6. The Bahamas ended the Trinidad and Tobago Soca Warriors’ chances of qualifying for the world cup with a 0-0 stalemate at Thomas A. Robinson National Stadium last June.

Trinidad and Tobago will be looking to avenge that setback, coming in as the highest ranked team in the group. However, The Bahamas is looking to record another upset, this time on Trinidad and Tobago soil.

Later that week, The Bahamas will play host to Nicaragua at Thomas A. Robinson National Stadium – on Friday, June 10. It will be the first time these two nations play each other in senior men’s soccer. Both will then head to Nicaragua to play each other for a second time in less than a week on Monday, June 13.

Those matches will wrap up the first window of play for The Bahamas. The other window will be in March 2023. The group stage will serve as a qualifier for the 2023 CONCACAF Gold Cup.

CONCACAF announced the creation of the Nations League competition in 2018, with an aim of ensuring that all member associations have an opportunity to compete in more official matches, driving the development of the game in the region, and providing a compelling tournament for fans in all parts of the CONCACAF area.