Bermuda will be keen to capitalise on home-field advantage after being named among the four countries that will host the opening round of 2026 Concacaf Women's Under-17 Qualifiers early next year.

The qualifiers, which will take place from January 24 to February 2, is the first step towards qualification for the World Cup in that age group.

Aruba, Curaçao and Nicaragua are the other host countries for a tournament that will feature 30 participating nations into six groups, with the group winners and the two best second-place finishers joining Canada, Mexico, Puerto Rico and the United States in the final round.

The draw for the tournament will be held October 15 when the match schedule will also be announced. Two of the four host nations will entertain two groups.

Bermuda, who reached the final round of the Concacaf qualifiers in January, are in the same pot for the draw as Trinidad & Tobago, Nicaragua, Jamaica, Cuba and Guatemala — which means they cannot be paired in the first round.

The news is a fillip for the local governing body after Bermuda successfully hosted the men’s version of the event in February.