The Athletic Club of Port of Spain (AC POS) and Defence Force will feature against each other in the CONCACAF Caribbean Cup on Thursday, September 28, at the Hasley Crawford Stadium at 6 p.m.

According to Ryan Nunes, Club Owner, AC Port of Spain, the football club was rebranded in 2018 after winning the TT Pro League, “In 2019 we then took the Under-18 youth squad and promoted them, so what we are seeing now are the maturity of some of these players, such as John-Paul Rochford and Malik Mieres who were part of that grouping.

We have to be patient and supportive of these young players, especially if they have ambitions to move to international clubs. This will create a pathway for future players and assist the national system for a perpetual pool of national footballers,” he added.

A press release from the club also stated that since taking over ownership of the Club, Nunes has increased the intake numbers even from a Senior Men’s Team, to include 3 Youth Teams and a Women’s Team. The Women’s team is also doing well being led by Coach Chris Bailey and their captain Tenisha Palmer in the WOLF league.

He added, “We have approximately 150 players from areas such as a Blanchisseuse, Belmont, Bagatelle, Carenage, Maraval, St. Ann’s, Morvant and Arima. One of our objectives is to support players in particular ages 18 to 23.”

AC Port of Spain Football Club was drawn in Group A of the CONCACAF Caribbean Cup along with fellow Trinidad and Tobago club, Defence Force, Dominican Republic’s Moca FC as well as Jamaica’s Cavalier FC. Nunes said he is pleased the Defence Force Football Club, a local TT team has also been placed in the Group alongside AC POS, “Outside of the rivalry, we have a good comradery with the clubs’ coaches and administrators, but on the battlefield, we will not be taking any prisoners, especially this game. The players are motivated after suffering defeat and ultimately cost us the TT Premiership Title.

AC POS was ranked first on Match Day 18, but we lost Match Day 22 to the Defence Force so this game on September 28 th is where the players must prove themselves.”

He continued, “We may have lost our 3 games, but this particular game is where the team needs to prove their critics wrong. We know they are capable of redeeming themselves. The players have put in a great deal of work during the league and the loss of the TT Premier Championship broke their hearts, along with their families, supporters and community alike.

This game means a lot to the team. This game is going to be a Classico.”

“We are asking all football fans and supporters to come out on Thursday 28 September at the

Hasley Crawford Stadium to support the teams.”

Tickets to the two local matches are priced at TT$50 can be purchased at www.islandetickets.com. Follow our Instagram page at https://www.instagram.com/acportofspain/ for more information.