FC Aston Villa now stand alone at the top of the Antigua & Barbuda Football Association (ABFA) Premier League table thanks to a mammoth 8-0 win over Cedar Grove Blue Jays at the ABFA Technical Centre in Pynter on Friday.

Yasnay Torres ripped through the Blue Jays defense to finish with five goals on the day. His goals came in the 22^nd, 37^th, 38^th, 55^th and 68^th minutes while the other three goals came from Shahoi Dorsett in the 42^nd, Sean Tomlinson in the 53^rd and Joshua Ferdinand in the 91^st.

FC Aston Villa now have 37 points from 15 games to lead the table while the Blue Jays are 14^th with 10 points from 14 games.

Grenades are only a point behind FC Aston Villa after a 3-0 win over Ottos Rangers on Sunday. Vashami Allen opened the scoring for Grenades in the 10^th minute before the points were secured late in the second half through goals from Carl Osbourne in the 83^rd minute and Donovan Baptiste in the 92^nd minute. Ottos Rangers are ninth in the table with 19 points from 13 games.

Sunday’s other games saw Swetes and Greenbay Hoppers play out a 1-1 draw while the game between Pigott’s Bullets and Empire ended in a similar score-line.

In the first game, Rodney Lawrence opened the scoring for the Hoppers in the second minute before Shalon Knight got Swetes’ equalizer in the 65^th minute. The Hoppers are sixth in the table with 22 points from 14 games while Swetes are one spot below them with the same number of points and one more game played.

In the second game, the Bullets took the lead in the 19^th minute through Tyrique Thwaites before Rakeewm Joseph equalized for Empire in the 67^th minute. Empire are tenth in the standings with 18 points from 14 games while Pigott’s Bullets are 13^th with 15 points from their 14 matches.

The first of three games on Saturday saw Old Road get a 5-0 win over Five Islands to move to fourth in the table with 27 points from 15 outings.

Christhian Hereira and Raheem Deterville each got doubles for Old Road while Jonathan Shoy was also on the scoresheet. Hereira’s strikes came in the seventh and 68^th minutes, Deterville’s in the 31^st and 38^th minutes and Shoy scored in the eighth minute. Five Islands are 15^th in the table with three points from 15 games.

Game two on Saturday saw Parham secure a 3-1 win over Willikies. Parham took the lead in the 21^st minute through Malcolm Stewart before doubling their advantage four minutes before the half through Stewart again. James Simon gave Willikies hope of a comeback in the 57^th minute before Kenja Benjamin sealed the points for Parham 10 minutes later.

Parham are now 11^th in the table with 18 points from 15 games while Willikies remain eighth 20 points from 14 games.

Tryum secured a 2-1 win over Liberta Blackhawks in Saturday’s final game. After a goalless first half, Tryum took the lead in the 51^st minute through Chevel Cunningham before Curlon Joseph doubled their lead 20 minutes later. Liberta got a consolation goal in the 86^th minute through Abraham Barry.

Tryum are fifth in the standings with 25 points from 15 games while Liberta Blackhawks remain at the foot of the 16-team table with two points from their 12 games.

The game week will end with third-placed All Saints United taking on 12^th-placed SAP on Monday.

CONCACAF has announced that its council has approved a new competition format for the region’s men’s and women’s youth tournaments starting in April 2023.

The new competition format, created following an extensive analysis of the current format, includes three rounds – qualifying stage, group stage, and knockout stage – and will improve development by increasing the number of matches in the qualifying rounds, as well as producing more competitive and exciting matchups in the Championship stage.

The new format increases the total number of matches for CONCACAF Men’s and Women’s youth teams by at least 20%.

Teams that advance from the qualifying stage are now guaranteed multiple matches against the region’s top ranked nations

“This new CONCACAF youth competitions format reflects our football first philosophy and our commitment to delivering more competition for all of our Member Associations,” said CONCACAF General Secretary, Philippe Moggio.

“We know that the best way for players to develop is to play and compete in official matches and tournaments. This format will provide more opportunities for all of our federations and their young players to shine on the regional and global stage,” added Moggio.

Men’s Under-17 and Under-20 competitions will commence with a six group Qualifying Stage played amongst teams ranked between 7 and 41, according to the relevant Concacaf Rankings. The number of teams per group may vary depending on the number of participating teams.

The Qualifying Stage will be played in a round robin format, with each team playing one match against each of the other teams in the same group. After round robin play, the six group winners will advance to a centralized Group Stage.

The Group Stage will be composed of three groups of four teams each (12 teams in total). This will include the six top-ranked teams (pre-seeded into this round) and the six group winners of the Qualifying stage. After round robin play, the top two teams of each group and the two best third places will advance to the Quarterfinals (eight teams). 

The knockout stage – quarterfinals, semi-finals, and final - will be played in a single match direct elimination format, with the semi-finalists (four teams) qualifying for the respective youth FIFA World Cup. 

Furthermore, for every other edition of the Men’s U-20 tournament, the finalists (two teams) will qualify for the Summer Olympics Men’s Football Tournament. 

Women’s Under-17 and Under-20 competition will commence with a six group Qualifying Stage played amongst teams ranked between 3 and 41, according to the respective Concacaf Rankings. The number of teams per group may vary depending on the number of participating teams. 

The Qualifying Stage will also be played in a round robin format and the six group winners will advance to a centralized Group Stage. 

The Group Stage will be composed of two groups of four teams each (eight teams in total).

This will include the two top-ranked teams (pre-seeded into this round) and the six group winners of the Qualifying stage. After round robin play, the top two teams of each group will advance to the semi-finals (four teams). 

The knockout stage – semi-finals, third place match, and final - will be played in a single match direct elimination format, with the finalists (two teams) and the third place match winner (one team) qualifying for the respective youth FIFA Women’s World Cup. 

The 2023 CONCACAF Women’s U-20 Championship will be the first competition to feature this new format.