FFK Newsletter - FFK ta Informá December 2016, Volume 2, Issue 4 On the rise The Curacao Football Federation, the players, the staff, all our loyal supporters, we are very, very happy with our national selection qualifying for the CONCACAF Gold Cup 2017 and the Final Round of the Caribbean Cup. As a result, Curacao now reached the 75h place in the FIFA Coca Cola ranking . For our small island this is a very important achieve- ment. It is the result of the steady implementation of our Long Term Development Plans. And of course it is not just the results of the senior selection that we care about - we also care about our youth. We were the proud host of the U-20 Caribbean Qualifiers, and though our U-20 did not qualify, it was a joy to have the talented U-20 teams over. Our U -17 did qualify for the CONCACAF Championship 2017 and our U-15 girls did great in Or- lando. Even greater though is that through our Grassroots and Youth Development ef- forts, more and more youngsters, boys and girls, get the chance to enjoy football. At schools, with the clubs and in the neighborhood. And exactly that is why we do what we do. FFK President Rignaal ‘Jean’ Francisca On behalf of the board of FFK, Rignaal ‘Jean’ Francisca, President Start CONCACAF Grassroots Project in Curacao The Curacao Football Federation is proud to be one of the first countries in the Caribbean to participate in CONCACAF’s three year pilot of implementing a grassroots program. Within the CONCACAF program, partners actively seek the support and cooperation of govern- mental and private parties. The structure of youth development is in place at FFK, with tournaments for youth players U-6 and U-8 and a yearly youth competition U-9 up to U-20. The focus of the grassroots program is to provide football opportunities for all youngsters on Curacao, be it through clubs, schools or other organizations. The focus of the CONCACAF program is to introduce foot- ball at primary schools and build a broad CONCACAF Development Director Hugo Salcedo poses with the youth coaches participating in player’s base in that cohort. the CONCACAF Youth Coach course and the target group - youth players. CONCACAF FFK Curacao Grassroots Week Overview The grassroots week opened with a CONCACAF Grass- roots Course for current and potential trainers and teachers. The course generated a lot of interest and over 40 coaches participated. •• During the five-day course, directed by CONCACAF in- structor Vin Blaine, the participants got informed about the grassroots principles and how to implement a grass- roots project in actual practice. Special attention was given to the age-appropriate training methods related to grassroots development, both in theory and on the field. CONCACAF decided to support the FFK Grassroots Developent project for Schools with a donation of uniforms and training materials for the participants. In the school project, FFK instructors visit schools to organize football training during physical education lessons or as an after-school activity. FFK aims to implement this program in 20 schools. The FFK Grassroots team organized a demonstration of grassroots activities at one of the schools, as to introduce the project to the Curacao schools and other stakeholders. CONCACAF Development Director Hugo Salcedo gave a presentation of the program for the different stakeholders and government representatives in order to highlight the benefits of this program. FFK president Rignaal ‘Jean’ Francisca symbolically hands over the material for football training to a teacher of the participating schools One of the best practices of grassroots development is organizing festivals for youngsters and provide them with a multitude of exercises and games in a circuit- style program. The participants will practice ball control and coordination while small-aside games will fuel their competitive spirit. On the last two days of the grassroots week the partici- pants of the grassroots course organized two grassroots festivals to demonstrate their acquired skills - and to give these youngsters a change to enjoy football! Curacao Qualifies for Gold Cup and Final Round Caribbean Cup Curacao - Antigua & Barbuda 3-0 The first match for Curacao in Round 3 of the Caribbean Cup was home against Antigua & Barbuda. It was also the first match with head coach Remko Bicentini, taking the place of Patrick Kluivert. Curacao had a dynamic start and in the 12th minute Leandro Bacuna scored the first goal! The Curacao selection dominated the field but failed to score again, until in the 80th minute Rangelo Janga broke the ban: 2-0. Gino Van Kessel scored 3-0 in extra time, his 7th goal in this edi- tion of the Caribbean Cup. Bicentini was content with this result and his team . He felt confident about the decisive match against Puerto Rico. By winning that next match, Cu- racao would qualify for the Final Round of the Caribbean Cup and for the Gold Cup 2017. Gino van Kessel scored his 7th goal in the Caribbean Cup 2017 Puerto Rico - Curacao : 2- 4 Antigua & Barbuda did Curacao the favor of winning against Puerto Rico in the second match. However confi- dent, Curacao made a bad start in the Bayamon Stadium in Puerto Rico and faced a 2-0 disadvantage at half-time. But the Curacao team did not give in to the pressure an in the 69th minute Rangelo Janga scored the first goal for Cura- cao and Leandro Bacuna leveled in the 85th minute. Cura- cao still needed to win the match, for all matches played in the Caribbean Cup must end with a winner. Seven minutes into extra time, Felitciano Zschusschen netted 3-0, and Leandro Bacuna kicked in goal nr. 4, ending all doubts and shooting the team straight into the Gold Cup 2017. The Curacao team ahead of the match Curacao - Antigua & Barbuda on October Participating in the Gold Cup is a first for the Curacao team. The Curacao federation is very content to have reached the next level of performance. FFK has been building this young team since 2014. The team performed well in the previous Caribbean Cup and after playing three rounds in the WC Qualifiers under head coach Patrick Kluivert, the selection and newly appointed head coach Remko Bicentini are ready for the next step. Bicentini signed on for three years in November. The Final Round of the Caribbean Cup will be played in June 2017, followed by the Gold Cup in July 2017. Remko Bicentini will guide the Curacao team for the next three years. Celebrating the milestone - Curacao will participate in the 2017 Gold Cup! Centro Dominguito adds another titel to her shining record Team Centro Dominguito In the First Division, the teams RKVS Scherpenheuvel, and Centro Dominguito played the final on November 7. For RKVS Scherpenheuvel, the team that debuted in the First Division in 2015, reaching the final was a great mile- stone. But reigning champion Centro Dominguito did not give up its top position. In a nerve wrecking final, Centro Dominguito's Stallone Isenia opened the score in the '32 minute. Benjamin Gil Guedez, however, scored for RKVS Scherpenheuvel just three minutes later. Centro Domin- guito's Randall Winklaar sealed the Curacao champion- ship in the '85 minute and with a score of 2-1 Centro Dominguito won the final match. It is the 4th title in 5 years for 'La Famia’. Team Scherpenheuvel Liga MCB 2nd div Champion Willemstad promoted to 1st Division CVV Willemstad won the final of the Second Division Liga mine which team would be playing in next year's First Division MCB against CH Mahuma on October 20 with a score of 2-1. Liga MCB. CVV Willemstad won both matches with 1-0 and is The 2nd division champion played two matches against the promoted to the Liga MCB first Division in 2017! nr 10 of the First Division Liga MCB, Jong Colombia, to deter- Congrats to CVV Willemstad! Girls U-15 win group phase of 2016 CONCACAF WU U-15 Championship The FFK U-15 selection performed really good at the CONCACAF U-15 Championship 2016., which took place from August 9-21 at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex in Orlando. First, the Curacao selection beat Anguilla with a score of 3-0. The second match against the US Virgin Islands was won with a 6-0 score. Cura- cao’s last match in the group phase was against Barba- dos, who also had won their first two matches. The Curacao team settled the match at 3-0 and qualified for the quarterfinals. The Curacao girls had to play against Canada, one of the best teams in the world in women’s football. Canada send Curacao home with a 10-0 loss. Eventually Canada became sub-champion of CONCA- CAF after losing the final to the United States. All in all a great experience for our girls and the coach- Curacao’s U-15 did great in the CONCACAF U-15 Championship. ing staff - and proof that the investments in women development are paying off with more good results! FIFA Advanced course women The Curacao Football Federation is investing in the im- plementation of her Women Development Plan in many areas, and slowly but steadily woman’s football is growing in Curacao. The education department al- ready organized two FIFA courses for women coaches and now reaching the next stage in development re- quested a FIFA Advanced Women Coaching course. FFK was pleased to welcome FIFA’s Andrea Rodebaugh again as instructor for the course. Rodebaugh, an ex- international and captain of the Mexican football team now dedicates her time to the further development of women football.