Dates for this summer?s Under 17 World Cup qualifying tournament in Havana, Cuba have now been tossed up in the air.

Bermuda?s Under 17 national team, who were ousted from the previous tournament in Cuba two years ago, were originally scheduled to take part in the international competition from August 9 through 16.

However, according to a recent announcement by the Caribbean Football Union, original dates for the tournament have now been scrapped and could either be brought forward or put back to the end of the month.

Bermuda were shutout 2-0 by Cuba at Campo Polar in Havana in the previous Under 17 World Cup qualifying campaign. The bulk of that team have since moved on to the Under 20 national team due to see action in the Under 20 World Cup qualifiers in Jamaica from August 21 to 25.

Bermuda Football Association youth director Kenny Thompson will coach both teams, including the Island?s senior national team in the Digicel Caribbean Cup in Aruba. Bermuda?s senior national team, recently ousted form the World Cup, take on Aruba on August 21.

The Island?s Under 17 national team will resume training next week at Gym Field.

Coach Thompson, who was at the helm of the previous Under 17 squad which advanced into the second round of World Cup qualifiers, explained: ?We have received correspondence which initially stated the competition will be held August 9 through 16. But now the dates have yet to be confirmed and as such there are no set dates ? although the competition is still scheduled to take place.?

As for preparations, Thompson explained: ?I have confirmed we will now be training at Gym Field and so we will be looking to begin training next week. And I have already met with the coaches to try and get everyone on the same page.?

Thompson will now have to quickly bring a largely ?inexperienced? team up to scratch in less than ten weeks.

?The Under 17 team now is a new team. The previous team have now moved on to the Under 20 level. The Under 17 team will be a team with no prior World Cup experience ? just like the previous Under 17 World Cup teams,? he said, adding: ?The importance of the overall programme, as they move on, is to become more experienced . . . and that?s what we are seeing with the Under 20s.?

Thompson, meanwhile, said the nucleus of the Under 20 national team ? comprised largely of former Under 17 players ? will have an advantage flying down to the Caribbean to compete, having already experienced a dose of international football.

He said: ?The team will be made up of some of the younger players of the first Under 17 team that I had which lost to Jamaica here and the most recent Under 17 team which was beaten by Cuba. So we now have a whole group of players who have previous World Cup experience and so right from the beginning understand what is required, what they will face and what is required in order to be successful.

?Again, it?s important to have continuity in the programme in that we should have Under 17s playing in the Under 17 World Cup which will always be a new experience to any Under 17 player before progressing to the Under 20s with prior experience.?

Bermuda?s Under 20 national squad resumed training last week.