The Cayman Islands Women’s National Team is set to begin its campaign for a place in the 2026 CONCACAF W Championship.
They have been drawn into group C, a pool that includes Costa Rica, Guatemala, Grenada and Bermuda.
Their opening match, which will take place at the Truman Bodden Sports Complex at 7pm local time on Thursday, 27 Nov., will feature the Cayman squad going head-to-head with Bermuda.
This match also serves as a pathway to the FIFA Women’s World Cup and Olympic qualification.
Cayman’s head coach Michael Johnson says he is excited for the match and embraces the underdog role of his women’s team.
“Looking at the CONCACAF rankings, Bermuda ranked 14th and Cayman ranked 32nd out of the 41 countries. One may think it is a pointless game, but, for us, we love this narrative and we will do our utmost best to shock the region,” Johnson said.
Cayman supporters can be ‘that 12th player’
His hope is to “see the stadium filled on Thursday and the Cayman people cheer our girls on for the 90 minutes and be that 12th player”.
The last of the Cayman players who are overseas flew back in on 24 Nov., Johnson said on Tuesday, and added, “We will now have the next two days with [the] full group to go over the game plan for the [match].”
The official Cayman women’s team comprises of Naomi Wilson, Ericia Burke, Cayden Coles, Kaela Ebanks, Neesah Godet, Tyanna Jan, Estella Ridley, Shardaye Powell, Samira Mellaneo, Olivia Ridley, Hayleigh Solomon, Cosabella Windsor, Tessa Clark, Lea Dos Santos Smith, Clara De Quintal, Tamoy Phillips, Shanice Monteith, Harper Nelson, Courtney Hicks, Reese Bateson, Brittni Ebanks, Chelsea Brown and Jada Dixon-Lam.
Tickets for the 27 Nov. match are priced at $25, with free entry for children 12 and under. They are available at the gate or ticketsplus.ky.
