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Just days away from the final of the inaugural KFC U17 Elite Cup, competition organiser Eric Rademakers said despite areas where they will need to make improvements, he views the season as a major success for all clubs involved.

The Elite Cup is a new competition organised by six of the top youth academies in Jamaica, including Mount Pleasant Football Academy, Kingston Football Academy, Ballaz Academy, Harbour View, Cavalier and Montego Bay United.

The competition kicked off in February and will come to a close this Saturday as Mount Pleasant take on Harbour View in its grand finale at the Anthony Spaulding Sports Complex.

Rademakers said the first-ever staging was a success despite the challenges they had faced as organisers.

"I definitely think it a big success for our first season," he said.

"There are definitely a lot of areas that we want to improve on to be honest but I'm extremely happy with where we are in our first edition. I know the landscape that we're at in Jamaica and that the starting point is going to be far away from where we want to be."

Rademakers explained one of the major wins for the Elite Cup was their ability to attract several of Jamaica' top youth players.

He pointed to the likes of Jahmarie Nolan, who now plays for Toronto FC's reserve team in the MLS NEXT Pro, as well as Harbour View's Tyrique Robinson, the 15-year-old who recently marked his Jamaica Premier League (JPL) debut with a goal against Vere Phoenix.

"I think one of the things that is difficult to measure is the impact a league has on the players but I think it is obvious when you have a player like [Jahmarie] Nolan or Tyrique Robinson who recently made his debut in the JPL," he explained.

"They train every week because they have a quality match in the Elite Cup coming up on the weekend and if we have these guys perform well on the youth level, they will get their chances at the senior level."

MOVING FORWARD

Rademakers said one of the areas they will need to improve on is their financial standings as he said the competition is open to taking on board new sponsors for next year.

He also explained they are also in talks with several clubs with the possibility of adding new teams to the competition.

The league organiser, however, explained that clubs will need to show a high level of commitment to youth development before they would be invited to the league.

"A lot of clubs have reached out after we started asking if they can join next year. For us, we need to see if the club is training consistently year-round because we want to work with clubs that are ready to invest in their youth."

Rademakers also explained that interested clubs will also need to meet other requirements which include having a dedicated coaching staff for youth football as well as being able to host games at approved fields.

gregory.bryce@gleanerjm.com