MIAMI, Florida – The 2022 Concacaf Caribbean Shield (CCCS) in Puerto Rico kicks off on Friday with 11 teams in search of the title and a place in the 2022 Scotiabank Concacaf League Play-Off.
The Estadio Centroamericano de Mayaguez in Mayaguez will be the site for Group B in which Real Rincon of Bonaire, SWA Sharks of Turks and Caicos Islands, Jong Holland of Curacao and Gosier of Guadeloupe will be vying for the top spot in the group.
Real Rincon are no strangers to the CCCS, having participated in the 2018 and 2019 editions, in addition to the 2021 Flow Concacaf Caribbean Club Championship.
Real Rincon’s best finish in the CCCS came in 2018 when they made a spirited run to the semifinals before falling 2-0 to eventual champions Club Franciscain of Martinique. Real Rincon then went on to claim a Third-Place finish by defeating Nacional of Aruba in the Third Place Game, 3-1.
Jong Holland have a bit of history in the CCCS as well. The Curacao club hosted the tournament in 2019 and reached the knockout round. After topping Moulien of Guadeloupe, 3-0, in the quarterfinals, Jong Holland were eliminated in the semifinals by Club Franciscain in a 4-2 final.
Jong Holland also have a bit of Concacaf pedigree having competed in the 1978, 1979 and 1985 editions of the Concacaf Champions Cup.
AS Gosier made their Concacaf debut as part of the combined 2021 FCCCC, playing in Group C. Their tournament ended without a win, but they did score in a 3-1 defeat to eventual semifinalists AS Samaritaine of Martinique.
Meanwhile, SWA Sharks will be aiming to start their own history in Concacaf competition with a strong performance in the group. Brian Gregg, who scored four goals in a league match last month, will be one of the players to watch for Sharks.
The four teams will play a round-robin, with the first-place team advancing to the semifinals. Depending on the results of the other two groups, the second-place finisher from Group B could also advance to the semifinals.
