Despite losing the three matches, the Elite Eliments football team gained valuable experience in the Shaq Moore Youth Classic football tournament, which took place December 13-15 in Tobago.

Kirk Allen, coach of the team, told the Jamaica Observer that the appearance opened new doors for them.

“It was a very good experience, everyone was excited to play overseas and we got more calls to play in St Lucia and Trinidad. This tournament gave us a jump-start,” said Allen, who launched the club nine years ago.

The 16-member squad, which comprises players ages 10 to 13, competed in the Under-14 segment. All are from tough inner-city communities, and it was their first time travelling overseas.

Their trip was sponsored by the Keturah Hamilton Foundation, an organisation run by Keturah Hamilton, a Jamaican actress who lives in Los Angeles. She and foundation associate David Parker accompanied the team to Tobago, and agrees with Allen that exposure was the big winner.

“The biggest takeaway from the trip is the experience of witnessing how courageous and relentless these boys are. I was able to be part of a winning team and they were winners in the sense of how they played their hearts out. It was beautiful and inspiring to watch,” she said.

Hamilton met members of Elite Eliments last July while vacationing in Jamaica. They were looking for financial support for their team, which has competed in several age group competitions across the country.

Through support from her foundation, My Soccer Store, Acacia Sports and Caribbean Airlines, they competed in the Shaq Moore Classic, which is endorsed by Shaquell Moore, the American footballer whose parents are from Trinidad and Tobago.

The tournament was actually started five years ago by Shaq McLetchie, a Trinidadian who played college football in the United States for Louisiana State University and Warner University.

He said over 50 teams from Trinidad and Tobago, Barbados, St Lucia and St Vincent and the Grenadines competed in three categories (Under-10, Under-12, Under-14). Valeo Football Academy, the other Jamaican team in the three-day event, contested the Under-14 and Under-12 slots.

Lambeau FC from Tobago, Bill Blasters Youth Academy from Tobago and Unionhall United from Trinidad won the Under-10, Under-12 and Under-14 categories, respectively.

Elite Eliments’ 2025 campaign starts at the January 10-12 St Bess Youth Tournament which takes place in Junction, St Elizabeth.

— Howard Campbell