Football’s regional governing body, Concacaf on Wednesday launched the inaugural staging of the Scotiabank NextPlay Cup, where children from four countries in the region — namely Jamaica, Barbados — Bahamas and Trinidad & Tobago — will participate in a month-long football competition held each Saturday.

Former Jamaican international Ricardo “Bibi” Gardner, who is the ambassador for the competition, is certain that the move by Concacaf will have a massive impact on the growth of football in the region.

“This will impact Caribbean football in a big way because at this young age this is where everything starts and these are our future for tomorrow’s football. If we can teach these youngsters life principles through football it can only get better out there on the field,” said the former Jamaica captain.

The early exposure of the children to the principles of football in a structured and organised way will bear fruit with World Cup qualification, Gardner predicts.

“I think this is the difference between our football now and our football back then. If you can learn the principles from a young age and grow with these principles, everything will be a lot easier for us; and I am sure we will be seeing some of these youngsters in the World — Cup which is one of the biggest stages in football,” he said at Wednesday’s launch at Spanish Court Hotel in Kingston.

Gardner, who currently coaches Red Stripe Premier League club Harbour View FC, admits that it feels “special” to be selected to be an ambassador for youth football by the region’s governing body.

“This is a very special moment for me. Football has done so much for me so it is always good to give back to the sport that has done so much for you, and to be a part of something bright for these youngsters at such a tender age where they can learn life principles.

“They will learn not only from myself, but from the director (Jason Roberts) himself of how to be a professional, and the skills that come with it to live the life of a footballer on a day to day basis. I think it’s a great platform for the youngsters to display their talent to the best of their ability right across our region,” he noted.

Having made the journey, which began while he was a youngster himself, Jamaica’s youngest World Cup representative is hoping to show the region’s youth the best path to becoming a top-quality football player.

“My role is to be at as many of the games as possible, once I am available. I have other engagements as well but I have walked the walk, so it is really teaching these youngsters how to live the life of a professional footballer and that it is not only on the field but it’s also stuff you do off the field and at the end of the day preparation is key.

“So if you can prepare them and have them growing up in the right manner, growing them up to be leaders on and off the field, how to be responsible, how to love the game and how to embrace each other and be very competitive out there it’s just great for football,” he concluded.

The competition will run from November 10 to December 8.