Twelve Virgin Islanders will be traveling to the island of St. Martin over the Easter holiday weekend to participate in an under 13 (U13) soccer tournament for boys and girls. They will compete as a club in a Caribbean-wide tournament, called "Coupe de la COM"— Cup of the Collectivity of Saint-Martin. Fifteen teams from Canada and the Caribbean were invited to participate in this historic event, the first of its kind.
This historic event will involve three days of tournament games flanked by activities designed to shine a spotlight on the love of the game as well as the history and beauty of the island nation. This event is sponsored by both the office of the President of the Collectivity of St. Martin and the Tourism Office of St. Martin. The Virgin Islands team, the LaRaza VI Soccer Club, will travel under the leadership of head coach Joseph Limeburner and assistant coach Howie Williams.
A key achievement of the club is the LaRaza’s U12 win against Tortola in a January 2013 tournament that got them recognition by the FIFA’s technical director Keith Griffith. Since then the LaRaza soccer club has participated in international tournaments such as the Florida’s Disney Cup, and in the Cayman Islands and the Dominican Republic.
