RELEASE THE UNDER-21 footballers a lot earlier so they can adequately prepare for national duty. National youth team coach Kenville Layne is making this request to clubs and the Barbados Football Association (BFA) as the team move into the final phase of preparation for next month's Central American and Caribbean (CAC) Games Group qualifiers at the National Stadium. Barbados will host Puerto Rico and Aruba in the three-team qualifying series from April 14 to 18 and Layne believes there should be a cut-off period for the footballers who are playing with clubs in the Digicel-sponsored Premier League or in the Division 1 competition. Prior to last Sunday's friendly international against Antigua and Barbuda, a number of players, who are members of the national Under-21 squad, were involved in a Premier League double header at the Empire Club. "Sometimes it could be a disadvantage and sometimes it can be a plus but at the present time, it is a little hard to have an international game and two, and three days before a tournament my guys are involved in high competitive games in Premier League football," Layne said. "That is my worrying factor and I am hoping that the next time this situation comes around I would be allowed to have these players at least four or five days before a game of this nature," Layne said. (ES)
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