Havana, Jul 25 (JIT) - CONCACAF announced changes in the venue and schedule of the group A matches of the U-20 championship of that confederation being held in Mexico, following violent incidents in the city of Celaya.
The decision was made in response to security measures taken jointly with the Mexican Football Federation following a violent incident in the vicinity of the hotel where the Cuban national team was staying.
It is essential to point out that the incidents were not related to the Cuban delegation, or even to the event, and the Cuban team trained on Wednesday afternoon in complete tranquility and with extreme security measures.
None of the players, technical or administrative staff of the Cuban delegation is affected by the incident.
On the contrary, they are focused on the match against Jamaica, which could give them a ticket to the round of 16 of the event, as stated to JIT by the team's technical director, Yunielys Castillo.
For that reason, the matches of Cuba against Jamaica and the United States against Costa Rica will take place on Friday 26 instead of this Thursday 25 as scheduled.
In addition, they were moved from the city of Celaya to Leon, so the venue will be Leon Stadium instead of Miguel Aleman Stadium.
The Cuban Soccer Association, through its president, Oliet Rodríguez, wants to send a message of thanks to all those who showed their concern for the Cuban delegation and reiterates that fortunately they were not involved in the incident, so they were not affected.
Due to its importance, we have reproduced the press release from CONCACAF and the FMF.
CONCACAF and the FMF announce changes to the venues and schedule of the U-20 Concacaf 2024 Men's U-20 Championship
Concacaf announced changes to the match schedule and venues for the Concacaf U-20 Men's Championship 2024.
The region's U-20 World Cup qualifiers kicked off on July 19 in Irapuato and Celaya, Mexico, and include the participation of 12 Member Associations.
Following a security incident outside a competing hotel in Celaya, and as a precaution to ensure the best possible experience for all participants, CONCACAF has decided, in coordination with the FMF, to move the remainder of the tournament to the cities of Irapuato (Estadio Sergio Leon Chavez) and Leon (Estadio Leon). No more matches will be played in Celaya.
In addition, CONCACAF has rescheduled the Group A matches originally scheduled for Thursday, July 25 to Friday, July 26. This will allow the four national teams to move from Celaya to León.
These decisions were made in coordination with the Mexican Soccer Federation and local authorities.
