PARAMARIBO–Suriname is participating in CONCACAF’s men’s Olympic qualifying tournament that will be held in three U.S. cities next spring. Suriname’s team will be among two four-team groups with the top two finishers from each group advancing to the semifinals.

The eight-nation, under-23 tournament will determine the confederation’s two representatives at the 2012 Olympic Games. Nashville, Tenn., will host games March 22, 24 and 26. Carson, Calif., will host matches on March 23, 25 and 27. The semifinals will be played in Kansas City, Kan., on March 31 and the final on April 2.

Six teams are in the tournament: the U.S., Canada, Mexico, El Salvador, Guatemala and Panama. The final round of Caribbean qualifying between Trinidad and Tobago, Suriname, Cuba and St. Kitts and Nevis will be played November 24-28.

NEW YORK –CONCACAF Wednesday announced that its Under-20 Championship in Guatemala City will be played a week early, from March 28 to April 10 2011. The tournament was originally set for April 3 to 17 2011.

It will be divided between the Estadio Nacional Mateo Flores, a 30,000-capacity venue used for Guatemala National Team matches, and the 16,000 Estadio Cementos Progreso, which serves as home to Guatemalan club Comunicaciones.

Suriname’s Under 20 team wrote local history last month, when they clinched the twelfth and final spot in the 12-team Concacaf Championships, closing off the Group E matches with a 2-1 victory against Bermuda, besting Guyana and Curacao as well.  The matches were held at the Andre Kamperveen Stadium in Paramaribo.

With the competition in Guatemala, the team is one competition away from World Championships, a first for Suriname.  Four teams from this championship will advance to this year’s U-20 World Cup in Colombia July 29 to August 20.

PARAMARIBO, Suriname—National Football Coach Harold Deyl says the community should have less negative criticism about the young footballers that will represent Suriname at the Concacaf Under-20 play-offs that kick off in the Andre Kamperveen Stadium in Paramaribo today, Wednesday January 19, 2011.

Coach Deyl on Tuesday told De Ware Tijd daily that said people may criticize the team, but that they should try to be positive, because that will help drive the boys to better performance. “It’s easy to criticize from the sidelines, but what do you contribute to improving our game,” Deyl gave naysayers in consideration.

Suriname is host to Bermuda, Guyana and the Netherlands Antilles for the final berth in the CONCACAF Under-20 second-round Group E matches  All four teams previously finished runner-up in their first-round qualifying groups and from these games, one team will emerge to complete the 12-team finals field.

The teams are vying for a spot among the North American qualifiers Canada, Mexico and the United States, host Guatemala, Central American qualifiers, Honduras, Panama and El Salvador as well as fellow Caribbean qualifiers Cuba, Jamaica, Guadeloupe and Trinidad for the CONCACAF championship finals April 3-17. Four teams will qualify for the Under-20 World Cup in Colombia July 20-August 20.

Coach Deyl has a good feeling about the games, but he is realistic. “Before a game you never know if you were really ready; that you can only know when the game is over,” he said. The team did endurance and technical training throughout the weekend and has been given time to rest since. “Those days of rest should make them ache for football again,” said Deyl.

Suriname faces Curacao at 7.00pm. Prior to that -at 5.00pm- Guyana faces Bermuda. On Friday January 21, it’s Curacao vs. Bermuda and Suriname vs. Guyana. On Sunday January 23, Guyana vs. Curacao, and Suriname vs. Bermuda.

PARAMARIBO, Suriname– Suriname will host Bermuda, Guyana and the Netherlands Antilles in mid-January for the final berth in the CONCACAF Under-20 Championship.

Andre Kamperveen Stadium in Paramaribo will be the venue for the second-round Group E matches from January 19 to 23, with one team emerging to complete the 12-team finals field. The sides will be looking to join fellow Caribbean qualifiers Jamaica, Cuba, Guadeloupe and Trinidad and Tobago for the CONCACAF championship finals from April 3 to 17 in Guatemala.

The CONCACAF championship finals also includes automatic North American qualifiers Canada, Mexico and the United States, host Guatemala along with Central American qualifiers, Honduras, Panama and El Salvador. Four teams will qualify for the Under-20 World Cup in Colombia July 20 to August 20.

CONCACAF (the Confederation of North, Central American and Caribbean Association Football) is the continental governing body for Association football in North America, Central America and the Caribbean. Three South American entities, Guyana and Suriname and the French department of French Guiana, are also members.