As the teams in CONCACAF get ready to compete in the upcoming CONCACAF Nations League, which gets underway in September, two of the opponents that will be facing St. Kitts and Nevis are looking forward to the competition. St. Kitts and Nevis last month was drawn to face Canada, Puerto Rico, French St. Martin and Suriname in the newly launched competition. The Sugar Boyz will face Puerto Rico at Home in September before traveling to neighboring French St. Martin in October.
Technical Director of the French St. Martin Football Association David Baltase is aware of how progressive the St. Kitts and Nevis team is and is expecting an interesting battle. “In the past, the under 17 team, I already played in St. Kitts. It was very, very difficult because it is an English country with players who play abroad so I know it will be very difficult. But it’s interesting for us because the most important thing for St. Martin is to play football and competition at the international level,” he said.
However, the French St. Martin football official was keen to point out the challenges faced by his side in preparing for the match, particularly with the state of the stadium in the aftermath of Hurricane Irma. “Because of the (hurricane), we did not have any competition. The competition did not restart yet so I am trying to restart the competition and then I will select the players to try and prepare well. We are coming from very, very far and we will have to deliver and we will have eight, nine months to prepare for the competition,” Mr. Baltase said.
On the other hand, Suriname is wary of the Caribbean sides they will be facing in this competition and are not taking anyone lightly. President of the Football Federation in Suriname, John Krishnadath, while he was in Miami last month for the Nations League draw, said all the Caribbean teams pose a threat to Suriname. “All of us, especially the Caribbean islands, they have a lot of players available from the other side of the oceans so we will see who we are dealing it when the time comes,” the president said. St. Kitts and Nevis will face Suriname away in March 2019 in the last match of the CONCACAF Nations League Qualifying Round to determine which tier of the League they will compete.