SHAWN COOPER was appointed as Trinidad and Tobago men's Under-17 football team coach earlier this week.

He took up the post with immediate effect and he will be overseeing the team's screening process and will prepare the squad before heading into the Concacaf U-17 Men’s Championship in Guatemala next February.

The remainder of the U-17 team’s technical staff will be announced in due course.

Cooper held the position as U-17 coach in 2011 and 2013, taking TT to the quarter-final stage of the Concacaf Championship, one victory away from qualification for the FIFA U-17 Men’s World Cup on both occasions.

TT will be in preparation for the Concacaf Men’s Under 17 Championship which takes place February 11-26, 2023, in Guatemala City and Antigua Guatemala, Guatemala.

The 2023 Concacaf U-17 Championship will begin with a 16-team group stage played between the top ranked participating nations (according to Concacaf’s Men’s U-17 ranking). These nations are (in alphabetical order): Barbados, Canada, Costa Rica, Cuba, Curacao, El Salvador, Guadeloupe, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, Jamaica, Mexico, Panama, Suriname, USA and Trinidad and Tobago.

After round-robin play, the best three teams in each group will advance to the knockout stage, where they will be joined by the four group winners from the Qualifiers.

The knockout stage play will include a round of 16, followed by quarterfinals, semifinals, and final. All knockout stage matches will be played in a single match elimination format and the semifinalists (four teams) will qualify for the FIFA U-17 World Cup Peru 2023.

Details regarding the official draw will be confirmed at a later date.

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