Currently the CONCAF Champions League consists out of 24 teams (9 from North America, 3 from the Caribbean and 12 from Central America).

As Saint Vincent and the Grenadines belongs to the Caribbean, their clubs fight for one or more of the 3 open spots every year. The spots for the C.L. get allocated during the CFU Club Championship. This championship is a tournament organised since 1997 by the Caribbean football union (FCU).

So far not a single club from Saint Vincent and the Grenadines was able to finish within the first 3 spots of this tournament since then. Realistically only Avenues United has a small chance to ever qualify for the C.L.

The next CFU Club Championship is played from March till May 2012. We will keep you updated if any Saint Vincent and the Grenadines teams are participating.

Maybe we can shout them to the Champions league together, for the first time ever.............wouldn't that be great?

7 Forward Wendell Cuffy 10/08/1989 (18 Caps) (2 Goals) Pyola

Wendell was a key player during the World Cup 2014 Qualifiers. He is the only player to represent Pyola in the national squad. His recent peformances attracted some interest from bigger teams, but so far no official offer came for the Pyola forward. It is said that Avenues United FC and some top teams out Trinidad and Tobago are fighting for his signature.

8 Forward Romano Snagg 10/04/1988 (9 Caps) (2 Goals) Avenues United FC

 Due to the wealth SVG already has in forwards, Romano is considered a back-up for the current squad. 

9 Forward Myron Samuel 19/12/1992 (18 Caps) (2 Goals) Avenues United FC

Myron is one of the youngest players to play and score for SVG. He also playes for the U-20 international squad, while playing for the senior squad. He recently tested for American Team Seattle Sounders, but didn't get signed.

He has a big future ahead of him, with already 18 Caps for the national team at the age of 18. 

He scored 2 goals during the World Cup Qualifiers 2014.

10 Forward Shandel Samuel (Vice-Captain) 14/12/1982 (87 Caps) (38 Goals) Ma Pau SC

Together with Cornelius Huggings, Shandel is the backbone and the star of the team. At the age of 28 he already scored 38 goals in 87 matches for the national team. He plays in the Trinidad and Tobago Pro league and is one of the few players playing outside of SVG.

Shandel would be a good signing for teams like KV Kortrijk, GBA, OH Leuven, Lierse, STVV and Westerlo in Belgium.

19 Forward Cornelius Stewart 01/10/1989 (16 Caps) (4 Goals) Vancouver Whitecaps FC

Cornelius attended Kingstown Anglican Primary School and Intermediate High School and began his career in 2001 with the youth soccer team System 3 FC on his home island of Saint Vincent. He moved to Newwill Hope International FC of the SVG national League Championship in 2007, and played for them throughout the 2007-2008 season, before moving to Canada in 2009 when he joined the Vancouver Whitecaps Residency Programme. He was promoted to the Seniro team in 2010, and will continue for the 2011 Major League Soccer Season. 

It is the biggest career a SVG player made so far. He also scored 2 goals during the W.C. 2014 qualfiers.

Next time we are going to discuss some recent call ups.

Its 389-square-kilometre territory consits of the main island of Saint Vincent and the northern two-thirds of the Grenadines, which are a chain of smaller islands stretching south from Saint Vincent Island to Grenada.

To the north of Saint Vincent lies Saint Lucia, to the east Barbados. Saint Vincent and the Grenadines is densely populated with its 120.000 people.

Its capital is Kingstown, also its main port. The country has a French and Britisch colonial history.

Agriculture, dominated by banana production, is the most important sector of SVG's lower-middle-income economy. the services sector, based mostly on a growing tourist industry, is also important. The government has been relatively unsuccessful at introducing new industries, and a high unemployment rate of 22% continues. The continuing dependence on a single crop represents the biggest obstacle to the islands' development. Tropical storms wiped out substantial portions of crops in both 1994 and 1995.

The tourism sector has considerable potential for development. The recent filming of Pirates of the Caribbean movies on the island has helped to expose the country to the wider world. Recent growth has been stimulated by strong activity in the construction sector and improvement in tourism.

An international airport is currently under construction.

While the offical language is English, most Vincentians speak a creole language known as Vincentian Creole. Standard English is the language used in education, government and other formal domains, while Vincentian Creole, commonly referred to as 'dialect' is used in informal situations such as home and among friends. The various ethnic groups may also still use their native languages such as Bhojpuri.

Saint Vincent and the Grenadines also have their own national rugby union team which are ranked 74th in the world.

Music popular in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines includes big drum, calypso, soca, steelpan and reggae. String band music, quadrille and bele music and traditional storytelling are also popular.

6 Midfielder Shemol Trimmingham 22/12/1989 (5 Caps) (0 Goals) System 3 FC

Shemol is one of the few spicy characters in the SVG squad, which lead him to a red card in the match against Belize during the World Cup qualifiers. He is an upcoming talent and once in a while he gets a taste of the first team, all of that to get him ready for the big work later!

11 Midfielder Emerald George 15/04/1985 (22 Caps) (2 Goals) Jebelle's FC

Although he had the most Caps of the midfielders during the World Cup preliminary rounds, he only played half of the games. Which is pretty rare for him as mostly he is seen as a key player. Something tells me that the current manager (Rowe) has something to do with that, he isn't really known for his logical line-up choices.

12 Midfielder Chad Balcombe 20/08/1990 (10 Caps) (1 Goals) Avenues United FC

Chad is an upcoming talent who regulary gets a chance in the first team. He is one of the younger, thus more inexperienced, midfielders in the team, but he can hold his own quite a bit. Recently he also scored his first goal for the national team.

13 Midfielder Damal Francis 11/09/1986 (15 Caps) (2 Goals) Avenues United FC

Damal is one of the players who should always be in the team. Despite his experience, class and his calmness before the goal, he only played 2 W.C. 2014 Qualifiers. For me this is one of the biggest problems in the national team of SVG! Rowe (Manager) is fond of rotation and friendship, but soccer is not about making friends! Not a single midfielder has a save place, just because Rowe wants to give everyone the opportunity to play. If SVG really wants to be taken seriously they should stop with this soon. Emerald George and Damal Francis always deserve a spot in the team! It is just a waste that the quality in the team goes down when they are not in the team......and that only because Rowe wants to be friendly.

14 Midfielder Reginald Payne 01/03/1980 (8 Caps) (2 Goals) Tobago United

Reginald plays together with Roy Richards at Tobago United in the Trinidad and Tobago Premier League. Both of them are the only foreigners in the team, this proves how fond the tobagan are of them. Reginald has been around for a while, but to be honest he is one of the weaker players of the team. You can always count on him and he is a nice addition to the team, but he never became or will become something else then just a back-up. Still, lots of love for this man!

15 Midfielder Durwin Ross 03/08/1983 (5 Caps) (1 Goal) Prospect United FC

Durwin is the only player in the national team that got selected from Prospect United FC, one of the smaller teams in SVG. The club was founded in 1982 by a group of beach soccer players. Today the club resides in the East Saint George are of Saint Vincent.

He is seen as a back-up and played one match during the W.C. preliminary rounds.

17 Midfielder Akeeno Hazelwood 06/11/1991 (3 Caps) (1 Goal) System 3 FC

Currently Akeeno is just a back-up, he disapointed in the only match he played during the W.C. 2014 Qualifiers and Rowe took him off the pitch around the 60th minute. It all depends on how this young chap develops.

22 Midfielder Norrell George 08/11/1985 (12 Caps) (1 Goal) System 3 FC

Although he has the experience and the skills, Rowe didn't gave him any opportunities for a while now, to prove this.

Saint Vincent, Land so beautiful, With joyful hearts we pledge to thee Our loyalty and love and vow to keep you ever free. Chorus What e'er the future brings, Our faith will see us through. May peace reign from shore to shore, And God bless and keep us true. Hairoun, Our fair and blessed Isle, Your mountains high, so clear and green, Are home to me, though I may stray, A haven, calm, serene. Our little sister islands are Those gems, the lovely Grenadines, Upon their seas and golden sands The sunshine ever beams.

Let me introduce you:

2 Defender Shawn Lowman 12/10/1989 (4 Caps) (0 Goals) Avenues United FC

Just as 7 other players of the national squad, Shawn plays for Avenues United FC. Shaw played his first match for SVG during the World Cup 2014 qualfiers. He played 4 out of the 6 matches, where he held his own. The matches he didn't play was due to some small injury. He made a more then decent impression and will most likely be on of the pillars of the team for the years to come.

3 Defender Cornelius Huggins 07/01/1975 (97 Caps) (0 Goals) Kedah FA

Cornelius is the national hero of SVG, this guy eats, sleeps and breaths SVG! What is there not to know about him?

He is one of the few SVG-players, playing abroad. He plays for Kedah FC in Malaysia. During the years he made a name for himself as a hard central defender, the fans gave him the nickname "The Outlaw". Not only is he the Captain of SVG,  he is also the Vice-Captain of Kedah FC.

Huggins' height and strength makes him a towering figure in todays soccer. He is a highly experienced and competent defender.

He is SVG's most-capped defender.

4 Defender Roy Richards 24/12/1983 (16 Caps) (0 Goals)  Tobago United

Another SVG-player playing abroad. Roy plays in the much stronger Trinidad and Tobago Premier League.

With his 27 years of age he is one of the more experienced defenders of the team. He was also one of the key players in the team during the World Cup preliminary rounds.

5 Defender Geroni Peters 14/12/1988 (2 Caps) (0 Goals)  Avenues United FC

For now, Geroni has more a back-up status in the team. He played one match in the World Cup Qualifiers, where he was replacing the injured Captain Cornelius Huggins. He didn't grab this opportunity to the fullest, but nobody can deny that there is some potential for the future.

16 Defender Jolanshoy McDowall  21/08/1989 (13 Caps) (0 Goals)  Avenues United FC

Nicknamed Boxer, Jolanshoy made his debut for the senior SVG Squad in a September 2008 Carribean Cup match against Martinique. He is from a small town in St. Vincent called Layou. For the past 5 years he has been one of the key players of Avenues United FC. In the current SVG national team he has a kind of rotation status as he can be very useful in some matches, but very unuseful in others.

18 Defender Reginald Richardson 01/03/1990 (14 Caps) (1 Goals) Pastures United FC

Impressive, that's the least you can say about this youngster that already gathered 14 Caps so far. He is also one of the tallest players in the squad, he is a major treat in the 18 yard box. With the right training Reginald could become a key player for many years to come. It is told he can fill up the empty space that Cornelius Huggings will leave, after his retirement in the next couple of years. Great future ahead for this chap!

Anderlecht....look out for this guy!

21 Defender Gregson Hazell 13/12/1991 (1 Cap) (0 Goals) System 3 FC

Gregson is one of the youngest players in the team. Currently he is used as a back-up, but with the right ingredients, this young defender is a prolific stopper in the making. 

About two months ago (october 2011) some random guy opened a topic on the forum of my beloved football team. The original starter of the topic wanted to share with us, that he thought, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines was de coolest name for a country ever. In very fast tempo he got a lot of followers and a lot of the RSC Anderlecht fans started to get sympathy for this small independent country in the Carribean sea.

Very fast the Anderlecht fans discovered that, besides its cool name,  SVG had a lot more to offer. The national flag wasn't that bad either, their soccer jerseys were almost a piece of art and then we didn't even get started about their women.

This superficial interest faded away and real interest for SVG came in place.

People started to find out everything they could.........They got to know the history of the national football team of SVG, they were following the qualification matches for the World Cup 2014 in Brasil. The first match we started to follow our new heroes was against Grenada. Everyone was gutted when Grenada made the equalizer at the end of the match, after our national pride Samuel opened the scoring. 

In this blog you will find out everything about SVG. We will interview players, follow every match, review previous matches/players, we will tell you how and were to buy those cool SVG football jerseys and so on.

Don't miss it!

Saint Vincent and the Grenadines are currently ranked as number 146 on the world ranking table. There is lots of catching up to do when we want to outrank current leaders Spain, but it isn't as bad as it looks. Currently we are leaving no less then 59 countries behind us!!!!

Because we are number 146 in the world, we immediately started in round 2 of the World Cup 2014 Brasil qualifiers.

We were drawn with Guatemala (90), Belize (140) and Grenada (106) in Group E. The goal was to finish within the first two spots of the group as this would set us through to the next round. Guatemala was the group favourite, and the other teams were in balance to finish second.

Day 1 - 02/09/11

Grenada - Belize 0-3

Belize started their campaign brilliantly with a 0-3 away victory against a direct competitor. I am sure Grenada were left baffled at St. George's.

Guatemala - SVG 4-0

The group favourite did what it was supposed to do. SVG was definitely no match for this strong Guatemala. The fact that the match was played at the Guatemale City venue didn't make things any easier.

Guatemala 3 points (4-0)

Belize 3 points (3-0)

Grenada 0 points (0-3)

SVG 0 points (0-4)

Day 2 - 06/09/11 and 18/09/11

Belize - Guatemala 1-2

A hard but logic victory for Guatemala, that does what everyone expects them to do. It is clear that they don't mess around and they want to qualify themself as soon as possible.

SVG - Grenada 2-1

This was a very good match for the Vincy Heat, against an equally skilled opponent, and immediately the points followed. On day 2 it is already clear that it most likely will go between SVG and Belize for the second place.

Guatemala 6 points (6-1)

Belize 3 points (4-2)

SVG 3 points (2-4)

Grenada 0 points (1-5)

Day 3 - 07/10/11

SVG - Guatemala 0-3

Logic result, and dreams didn't come true for SVG.

Belize - Grenada 1-4

This was a shocker! Grenada, the team that couldn't hold off Belize at their home turf, blew away Belize and left them behind crying after a 1-4 victory. With this unexpected result everything is back open in Group E and 3 teams are competing again for the second place.

Guatemala 9 points (9-1)

SVG 3 points (2-5)

Grenada 3 points (5-6)

Belize 3 points (5-6)

Day 4 - 11/10/11 and 15/10/11

Guatemala - Belize 3-1

What else is new?

Grenada - SVG 1-1

This could have been a huge step towards qualification for SVG if Grenada didn't score the equalizer in the last minutes of the game. The 1-1 was followed by a lot of disbelief in the SVG camp....they were soooooooo close!

Guatemala 12 points (12-2)

SVG 4 points (3-6)

Grenada 4 points (6-7)

Belize 3 points (6-9)

Day 5  11/11/11

Belize - SVG 1-1

Although SVG opened the scoring, 1-1 is a logic result and they can't be too unhappy about it. A draw at home against Belize in the next match is enough for the Vincy Heat to qualify! Well done boys!

Guatemala - Grenada 3-0

Standard.

Guatemala 15 points (15-2)

SVG 5 points (4-7)

Grenada 4 points (6-10)

Belize 4 points (6-10)

Day 6 - 15/11/11

Grenada - Guatemala 1-4

yeah, yeah....

SVG - Belize 0-2

Drama and horror for SVG. Everyone's dreams shattered! We didn't deserve this! So close to qualification for round 3.

Final Standings Group E

Guatemala 18 points (19-3)

Belize 7 points (8-10)

SVG 5 points (4-9)

Grenada 4 points (7-14)

We bow to our heroes, thank you SVG for giving your best! We enjoyed it till the last minute....the drama.....the excitment....the goals.

Next time! We are sure of that!

Saint-Vincent and the Grenadines FOR LIFE!

Today we tell you a little bit more about our goalkeepers:

1 Goalkeeper Dwayne Sandy 19/02/1989 (11 Caps)  (0 Goals) Avenues United FC

Dwayne is currently our number one choice in the goal, he played all the World Cup qualifying matches.

He currently plays for Avenues United FC (SVG team) on loan from Caledonia AIA (Trinidad and Tobagon team). As Caledonia already had 4 equally skilled goalkeepers, it was an easy choice for them to give the young Dwayne a chance to get some experience somewhere else.

Dwayne himself is very happy he made to move to Avenues United FC as he is one of the key players there. Avenues United FC is one of the oldest football clubs in SVG and is based in Kingstown, the capital of the country.

Before he made it as our national number one he also played on the under 20 and the under 23 teams for SVG in the past few years.

2 Goalkeeper Winslow McDowald 12/01/1989 (20 Caps) (0 Goals)  Jebelle's FC

Winslow has a couple of caps himself, you can say he is in balance with Dwayne. It is positive that the team consists out of two talented goalies, as that kind of competition can only make them AND the team better.

Winslow also plays for a SVG-team, just as most of his compatriots.

3 Goalkeeper Rawle Stephens 19/08/1993  (0 Caps) (0 Goals) System 3 FC

Rawle is a young talent of System 3 FC. System is a newly founded football team and only exists since 1997. They currently play in the NLA Premier League. SVG has 14 different competitions because of all its Islands.

Although he hasn't got 1 cap so far, the future looks very bright for the youngster. Insiders say that in a couple of years he should be ready to compete with Dwayne and Winslow.