Griffith and Smith make MLS Combine Final List

Story Courtesy: www.CFUFootball.org

St. John’s, Antigua – The New Year will start with plenty of promise for 24 young Caribbean footballers who have been selected by Major League Soccer (MLS) and the Caribbean Football Union (CFU) to participate in the 2014 Caribbean Combine.

The historic event will take place at the Antigua Recreation Grounds in St. John’s, Antigua from January 2nd -4th ; and will feature players, ranging in age from 18-21, from 16 different Caribbean nations.

Players will compete in games and participate in a training session in front of League scouts for an opportunity to earn an invitation to the annual adidas MLS Player Combine in Fort Lauderdale, Florida from January 10-14.

President of the CFU Gordon Derrick, who is also the General Secretary of the Antigua and Barbuda Football Association, hailed the sporting spectacle as a win-win for Caribbean football.

“The CFU has long been working towards an event such as this to show our young players of the region that with hard work and dedication they can achieve their dreams.

“While we wish all 24 players success and hope they make it to the next level; we want to see more players in the following years kicking on the doors of the MLS and making Caribbean football proud,” said Derrick.

MLS Executive Vice President, Todd Durbin, also agrees that the Caribbean is rich in talent and could the platform on which a talented MLS league can be sustained.

“We recognize that the CONCACAF area, and particularly the Caribbean, is rich with soccer talent, and this will be an opportunity for our scouts to evaluate and identify the region’s top players.

“Caribbean players from islands like Jamaica, Haiti, Grenada and others have been key performers in MLS. This event will help recognize the next generation of MLS stars as we look to achieve our goal of being among the best leagues in the world by 2022,” said Durbin.

The full list of players is as follows: