by Petra Williams

The waiting is over! After months of preparation, sacrifice and belief, Antigua and Barbuda’s Young Benna Boys are ready to step onto one of the biggest stages in regional youth football as the 2026 CONCACAF Under-20 Championship gets underway in Puebla, Mexico.

The challenge begins immediately. Antigua and Barbuda open against hosts Mexico on July 24, before facing Guatemala on July 27 and Costa Rica on July 30 in two more demanding group-stage tests.

This is not a team travelling merely to make up the numbers. It is a group determined to compete, to grow and to continue changing perceptions about football in Antigua and Barbuda.

Perhaps the most remarkable statistic heading into the tournament is that Antigua and Barbuda is the only Eastern Caribbean nation among the 12 teams that have earned the right to compete for regional honours. That distinction alone speaks volumes about the journey already travelled.

That progress now meets its sternest test in Mexico, where preparation, character and leadership will matter as much as talent.

Leadership Earned, Not Given

On the eve of the championship, the Antigua and Barbuda Football Association (ABFA) unveiled the team’s leadership group. Midfielder Dajari Barthley (#6) will captain the Young Benna Boys, with goalkeeper Tegan Gumbs (#18) serving as vice-captain.

For Head Coach Shyan Jeffers, the appointments were earned rather than simply awarded. According to the ABFA’s press release, “The final choice was not an easy one. We had different guys captain the practice games, we monitored them, and spoke to them. In the end, the management group was impressed with how Dajari handled the responsibilities. He is well respected by his teammates.“

Those comments reveal a coaching philosophy that extends beyond technical ability. Leadership was tested in training, evaluated under pressure and measured by the respect of teammates. In youth football, those qualities often become just as valuable as pace, strength or finishing ability.

A Squad Built for the Challenge

The twenty-one-member squad reflects a blend of homegrown talent and players developing through professional clubs, academies and educational pathways across the Caribbean, North America and Europe. 

Leading the group is captain Dajari Barthley, with goalkeeper Tegan Gumbs serving as vice-captain. Joining them are goalkeepers Gavin Gonsalves and Mekhi Phillip; defenders Jordan Francis, Ivan Grant, Joshua Roache, Javaughn Jarvis, Seth Black-Layne, Elijah Whyte and Zidaan Williams; midfielders Obediah Browne, Brenden Skilling, Jaiden Wray and Marco Micheal; and attacking players Brandon Satchell, Greg Williams, Vaughn Jackson Jr., Conroy Browne, Sedique Adams and Blake Philogene-Bidace.

Guiding the Young Benna Boys is Head Coach Shyan Jeffers, supported by Team Manager Roderick Williams, Assistant Coaches Donavan Peart and Derrick Edwards, Goalkeeper Coach Janiel Simon, Trainer Coull Graham, and Physiotherapist William Richards.  Together, the management and technical team carry the responsibility of preparing Antigua and Barbuda for one of the region’s most demanding football championships.

A Coach Who Knows the Challenge

Throughout the team’s preparation, including its training camp in Panama, Coach Jeffers has consistently demonstrated something that often separates successful programmes from unsuccessful ones: honesty.

Rather than making bold predictions, he has openly acknowledged the realities facing football development in Antigua and Barbuda.  Speaking to Spectator Sports, he explained, “We have to be realistic”. He recognises that teams from our region often trail our Central American counterparts in technical and tactical consistency, particularly in maintaining possession and avoiding costly mistakes.

That honesty, however, has never sounded like surrender. Instead, it has shaped the team’s identity: realistic about the gap when compared to the region’s strongest programmes, but committed to finding disciplined, intelligent ways to compete.

Perhaps his most powerful message was not about systems or formations, but belief. Coach Jeffers affirmed to Spectator Sports, “If everybody believes in themselves and believes in what we are trying to do, we will achieve, and we will find success for ourselves, for the team and for our country.” Those words reflect a refreshing realism. Antigua and Barbuda is not pretending to be Mexico, Costa Rica or Guatemala. Instead, the Young Benna Boys are embracing an identity built on organisation, discipline, intelligent use of possession and collective belief, qualities that have already carried them to this stage.

More Than Ninety Minutes

Championship football has a way of measuring far more than goals scored. Cape Verde’s performance and Curaçao’s memorable first goal in the recently concluded FIFA World Cup bear testimony to this.

Every tackle won, every disciplined defensive shape maintained, every courageous decision made under pressure contributes to the continued growth of football in Antigua and Barbuda.

The Young Benna Boys have already achieved something significant by qualifying for this championship. Now comes the opportunity to test themselves against three of the region’s strongest footballing nations and discover just how far this programme has progressed.

Regardless of the results, these are experiences that cannot be manufactured on the training ground. They are earned only by reaching this stage.

Supporters will naturally hope for positive results, memorable performances and perhaps another chapter in Antigua and Barbuda’s growing football story, but there is also value in recognising the broader picture.

Every generation that competes at this level lays another brick for those who follow. Every international match exposes young players to higher standards, sharper competition and lessons that will benefit both club and country for years to come.

When the Young Benna Boys walk onto the pitch against Mexico, they will do so carrying more than the Antigua and Barbuda flag. They will represent every youth player dreaming of wearing the national colours, every coach working quietly on community fields, every volunteer who has given their time to the sport, and every supporter who believes our football can continue to climb.

The opening whistle in Puebla marks more than the start of a tournament. It marks another important step in the evolution of Antiguan and Barbudan football. Whatever the final scores, the challenge has been accepted.

Now it is time for the Young Benna Boys to write the next chapter. Go Benna Boys!