PHILIPSBURG--Teams from six countries are competing in an international soccer tournament taking place on Aruba this coming week from March 13 to March 18. The " 2016 Torneo Internacional Aruba Himno Y Bandera" will feature teams from Aruba, Bonaire, Columbia, Curacao, Venezuela, and St. Maarten.
The U13 team was put together in November after several selection games organized by the St. Maarten Soccer Association (SMSA). The team has been training at the Raoul Illidge Sports Complex (RISC) and also competed in two mini tournaments in preparation Aruba.
The coaching staff includes head coach Sandro Garcia, assistant coaches Peter Suwijn and Guillaume Bendanon.
Seventeen boys from Dutch St. Maarten, playing for different (associated) soccer clubs were selected to play for the U13 national team. Making the cut are: Roderick Allen, Grant Caputo, Dane Cheng-A-June, Jean Jacques Craane, Reshawn Eustace, Jadon Gumbs, Oliver Hobgood, Cade Leone, Lisandro Marte, William Mulder, Jolian Peterson, Jan Lucas van der Plas, Malakai Serrant, Paul Speetjens, Tarique Sylvestre, D'Angelo Thompson, and Kevin Tjaden.
All games will be played at the Frans Figaroa Stadium in the northern part of Aruba. After the opening ceremonies, St. Maarten will play the first game of the tournament against Bonaire on March 13, followed by Columbia on Monday the 14, Venezuela on the 15, Curacao on the 16, and Aruba on the 17. The finals will be played on the 18th of March with third and fourth place teams playing against each other, followed by first and second place teams.
