By TENAJH SWEETING

Tribune Sports Reporter

tsweeting@tribunemedia.net

THE Bahamas senior men’s national soccer team was drawn into Group A of League C for the upcoming windows of the 2024-25 Confederation of North, Central American and Caribbean Association Football (Concacaf) Nations League matchups.

During the third edition of the Concacaf Nations League group stage, The Bahamas was relegated from League B to League C which is the third tier of the three leagues in the competition.

The team is now set to compete in Group A with opponents from Barbados and the US Virgin Islands. The official draw was announced on Monday in Miami, Florida. League C features nine teams which are separated into three groups - Group A, B and C.

Each team will have an opportunity to play the other teams in the group at least twice which is a total of four matches per team.

The Bahamas will have an opportunity to be promoted back into League B if they are able to emerge as the winner of the group or as the second best finisher in League C.

The Bahamas senior men’s national soccer team will look to redeem themselves this time around. They will no doubt have their work cut out as Barbados is ranked no.177 on the FIFA men’s world rankings, making them the highest ranked team in Group A.

Currently, The Bahamas sits at no.200 after jumping two spots on the FIFA men’s world rankings.

Meanwhile, the US Virgin Islands is ranked no.208 behind the other two Group A opponents.

The event will serve as a qualifier for the 2025 Concacaf Gold Cup event scheduled for March 23 next year.

The group stage will be played during the September, October and November FIFA match windows later this year.

The September window will be played from 2-10. The October window will follow from October 7-15 and the final window of the series will take place November 11-19.

Last year, The Bahamas fell out of League B after finishing fourth in Group D with zero wins. The team finished with a 0-1-4 (win/draw/loss record) to be relegated to League C.

While in Group D of League B, The Bahamas suffered disappointing losses against Puerto Rico, Guyana and Antigua and Barbuda.

In the home and away format, The Bahamas came short against Puerto Rico 1-6 at home and 1-6 in the away game. When matched up against Guyana, the team was defeated 3-2 on the road and home game of the series was cancelled due to a tragedy in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic.

The Bahamas played its best against Antigua and Barbuda but still lost at home 1-4 but then managed to draw 2-2 in the away game.

The venues for the Concacaf Nations League matchups will be determined at a later time.