- Netherlands Antilles Curacao Plays Aruba in First Derby in Four Years

Digicel, proud sponsor of Caribbean football, is pleased to announce that Aruba has agreed to take part in Group A of the Digicel Caribbean Championships, taking place in Curacao from 27-31 July.

The Aruban FA answered the call from the CFU after flight irregularities threatened Dominica’s participation in the tournament. Dominica now moves to Group B, taking place in Guyana, and Aruba plays Netherlands Antilles Curacao in the Ergilio Hato Stadium on 27 July, reigniting the derby atmosphere between the neighboring countries.

In what will be the first meeting between the two sides since 2004, as well as the opening match of the Digicel Caribbean Championships, a spectacular opening ceremony is scheduled to take place at 4.30pm, followed by match kick off at 7pm.

Group A also features Grenada, whose first match takes place on 29 July, followed by the deciding game between hosts, Netherlands Antilles Curacao, and challengers, Grenada, on 31 July, before the tournament moves to Guyana for Group B on 6 August. All three teams in Group A have been training hard in preparation for this year’s tournament which is set to be even bigger and better than ever before.

Netherlands Antilles Coach, Etienne Siliee, today spoke about his team’s preparation. “We’ve been training furiously over the past few months and the players are focused on making a good start this weekend against Aruba. We have some great talent on the squad and we’re confident that we will make it through to the next stage of the tournament."

Digicel Group Head of Sponsorship, Kieran Foley, in Curacao overseeing the final preparations for Sunday’s match, said, “With only one day left till kick-off on Sunday night, we are excited about the opportunity to bring bigger and better football to the people of the Caribbean once again. We want to make sure that football supporters come out and support their National teams as they fight for the right to call themselves the football champions of the Caribbean.”

The full fixture list for Group A of the Digicel Caribbean Championships is:

Sunday    July 27    7pm    Netherlands Antilles Curacao vs. Aruba
Tuesday    July 29    8pm    Aruba vs. Grenada
Thursday  July 31 8pm    Netherlands Antilles Curacao vs. Grenada

In all, the Digicel Caribbean Championships visits five countries around the region in Stage One, before moving onto Guadeloupe, Trinidad & Tobago and Cuba for Stage Two. The final of the tournament will take place in December in Jamaica after nearly five months of top flight international football between 21 Caribbean teams.

For more images, information and promotions on the Digicel Caribbean Championships please visit www.digicelfootball.com