Antigua and Barbuda will head to Mexico next week with a squad blending local talent and overseas-based players after the Antigua and Barbuda Football Association (ABFA) announced its final 21-man roster for the 2026 CONCACAF Under-20 Championship.
The team departs on July 2 for a 43-day programme ahead of the tournament, which runs from July 24 to Aug. 9 in Mexico. Antigua and Barbuda qualified as the sole Eastern Caribbean representative and is one of four Caribbean nations in the 12-team competition, alongside Jamaica, Cuba and Haiti.
Seventeen-year-old senior international Vaughn Jackson Jr., who made his senior debut during a FIFA World Cup qualifier against Cuba in June 2025, headlines the squad. Jackson currently attends Brooke House College in England, where he has participated in trials with clubs across the United Kingdom and Europe.
He is among a sizeable overseas contingent that also includes Blake Philogene-Bidace, Gavin Gonsalves, Dajari Barthley, Seth Black-Layne, Marco Micheal, Greg Williams, Conroy Browne, Tegan Gumbs, Brenden Skilling and Zidaan Williams.
ABFA said several members of the squad have continued their development through professional academies and international programmes.
Philogene-Bidace is on an elite scholarship at Tottenham Hotspur Academy, while goalkeeper Gonsalves recently signed an academy contract with Miami FC for the 2026 USL Championship season, becoming the fifth academy player to earn a first-team contract at the club this year.
Barthley developed through Bede’s Senior School in England and has twice been nominated for the National Junior Sportsman of the Year award.
Marco Micheal recently completed a trial with Spanish club FC Andorra through Future Pro’s UK pathways programme. The club competes in the Spanish football pyramid and is backed by former Barcelona defender Gerard Piqué.
Greg Williams attends Ackworth PSG Academy, while Conroy Browne plays for SG Wattenscheid 09 in Germany.
The United States-based contingent includes Seth Black-Layne of Combine Academy in North Carolina, Tegan Gumbs of Purdue University Fort Wayne and Brenden Skilling of ONE FC in Florida.
Gumbs played a key role during Antigua and Barbuda’s qualifying campaign, recording four consecutive clean sheets as the team won all four matches without conceding a goal.
The country’s place at the championship was secured when Jamaica-based striker Brandon Stachell scored a late winner against the Dominican Republic during the February qualifying tournament in Costa Rica.
ABFA noted that the remainder of the squad is made up of locally based players who have progressed through the Antigua Premier Division and represented the country at various youth levels.
Antigua and Barbuda has been drawn in Group B and will open its campaign against host nation Mexico on July 24 before facing Guatemala on July 27 and Costa Rica on July 30 at Estadio Cuauhtémoc in Puebla.
The top eight teams will advance to the knockout stage, with the championship final scheduled for Aug. 9 at Estadio Banorte in Mexico City. The tournament also serves as a qualifying pathway to both the FIFA Under-20 World Cup and the Olympic Games.
Head coach Shyan Jeffers said the players have earned their opportunity to compete on one of the region’s biggest stages.
“This group has earned the right to be in Mexico,” Jeffers said. “We have players who have developed across the UK, Germany and the United States, and a strong domestic core that has come through the Premier Division. Together, we are going to Mexico to compete.”
The coaching staff includes team manager Roderick Williams, assistant coaches Donavan Peart and Derrick Edwards, goalkeeping coach Janiel Simon, trainer Coull Graham, and physiotherapist William Richards.
According to ABFA, Jackson, born Sept. 4, 2008, remains one of the youngest players in the squad after making his senior international debut as a substitute in a World Cup qualifier last year.
The association also noted that Philogene-Bidace, born Oct. 28, 2009, continues to develop within Tottenham Hotspur’s Under-18 programme, while Gumbs, who is enrolled at Purdue University Fort Wayne in NCAA Division I competition, was instrumental in the team’s defensive success during qualifying.
The championship will run from July 24 through Aug. 9, with Antigua and Barbuda aiming to become one of the eight teams advancing to the knockout rounds and keep alive its hopes of qualifying for the FIFA Under-20 World Cup and the Olympic Games.
This article was originally published by Antigua News Room. Read the original article here: Antigua and Barbuda Names Final Squad for CONCACAF Under-20 Championship in Mexico.