Gordon Derrick was literally beaming from ear-to-ear when he gave post-tournament comments on the just-concluded Caribbean Football Union (CFU) Under-17 finals.

The CFU president thinks host nation Trinidad and Tobago delivered a top-shelf show, which he thought spoke volumes to the organisational competence of the Caribbean region.

“I am very satisfied as the organisation was first class and we were even bordering on world–class, as there were no hiccups in terms of complaints from teams.

“But credit must go to everybody who played a part as we continue to develop as world-class organisers,” said Derrick, who a few months ago got a new mandate to lead the regional body.

He was also impressed with the overall quality on display by players who he has billed “stars” in the making.

“I have seen a lot of the games and I am very impressed with the quality of play. Yes, these are the under-17s, so tactically they may have made one and two mistakes, but the quality was there and I believe there was a drastic improvement over the last tournament, which was also good.

“But what was also good in all of this is that I see future stars from many of the teams, so the future is definitely bright for the Caribben Football Union as long as we keep our hands to the plough,” he told the Jamaica Observer.

With only one Caribbean team, Trinidad, in the final six of the CONCACAF Russia 2018 Senior World Cup qualification campaign, Derrick said it is imperative that the remainder of the region throw its support behind the two-island republic.

“We would have wanted more (teams in Hexagonal round), but Trinidad is there and we will be throwing our support behind them and hopefully, for 2022, we will have more teams in the ‘hex’, and I am hoping to see at least three teams there… but people may say I am a dreamer, but if you don’t dream, you won’t get anywhere,” said the Antiguan.