12-Year-Old Amari Small Shines in Barbados National Under-14 Squad

Barbados: A young football player from Barbados, Amari Small, 12, has consistently performed exceptionally and won several awards at the 2024 CFU Boys’ U-14 Challenge Series.

He was called to train with the Barbados National under-14 Boys’ Development Training program and he was subsequently called to the national under-14 squad to represent Barbados at the 2024 CFU Boys’ U-14 Challenge Series (Tier 11) when the matches were played in Trinidad & Tobago last month.

In this historic Challenge Series, Small, who is passionate about football won two ‘Player of the Match’ awards in the series. His first award was against the Cayman Islands team, and he did it again in the semi-final match against the Turks and Caicos team.

His love for football started when his Nursery School teacher, Welcome,  at Thelma Berry Nursery School, saw some potential in the then four-year-old and suggested getting him into a football camp at Kick Start Football Club.  That idea has paid dividends over the years, as Small progressed to an outstanding young footballer.

Amari Small has played for RF Prime Stars Football Club and Eden Lodge Football Club and played for three years with the National Sports Council team. He played his first competitive football match for Eden Lodge Primary School in the BICO School league and since then, he has been outstanding playing for his clubs and school.

As he entered Comberemere School, Small immediately got involved in football and he assisted the school’s under-14 team to 2nd place in the school league that year. Since then, he has played on the school’s under 16 and under-19 teams and has won several ‘Most Valuable Player’ awards as well as ‘Most Goals’ awards and ‘Best Mid-fielder’ awards.

At just 12 years old, he scored a total of 20 goals in three matches playing in the under-14 school league for Combermere.

A talented footballer and a very well-rounded athlete, Small is a middle-distant runner and has represented his schools at NAPSAC and BSSAC and in cross-country running, but his undying love for football does not allow him to dedicate time to track events.

The former prefect at Eden Lodge Primary School, Small has the full  support of his parents Cassandra Small and Raymond Bovell who assist him in keeping a balance with his academics.

Small received a merit award in his first year at Combermere and at last year’s speech day he received the award for the ‘All Round Exceptional Junior Boy’ and ‘Junior Footballer Of The Year’, signaling that he is a student of high standards and good conduct, along with good academic performance which is balanced with his sporting achievements.

The young footballer is now hoping to take up an offer with “Next Up Empire”, a recruiting agency that offers young footballers the opportunity to be exposed to international coaching and matches that offer several benefits for the athletes.