Saint Lucia’s national women’s football team is likely to look a lot different for the upcoming FIFA World Cup Qualifiers, which will be played across the three FIFA Women’s International Match windows between November of this year and April 2026. The squad which limped to second place at September’s Windward Islands Football Association (WIFA) competition is expected to be bolstered by at least a half-dozen overseas players for the Concacaf W Qualifiers, the preliminary stage of the 2026 Concacaf W Championship.
Last month in St Vincent and the Grenadines, a relatively thin group played unbeaten up to the title match, which they lost to Barbados. Injuries took their toll over the course of the week, with some players forced into unusual positions. That unit comprised almost entirely home-based players, led by former collegian Krysan St Louis and captain Cassandra Shepherd.
Shepherd played somewhat deeper than she usually does for her district team, Canaries, and she did not bring the goal-scoring prowess she has shown in the domestic league. Canaries repeated as Saint Lucia Football Association Senior Women’s Tournament champions, beating Vieux Fort South in the final at the end of August.
St Louis, meanwhile, was the top scorer for the Piton Girlz in Kingstown, with three goals to her credit. A prolific striker from her days as a youth footballer, the Vieux Fort native is a graduate of Texas A&M University, and has played professionally in the United States.
Also included in last month’s squad were young forwards Kayla Polius and Amaya Emmanuel, who terrorised age-group competitions the past three years, and youth team captain Tori Fanus, a midfielder. All three appeared to be very comfortable among the senior ranks, along with the likes of Shamalyn Albert and defender Racquel John.
But reinforcements are expected for the Concacaf W Qualifiers. Saint Lucia is drawn in Group A, along with Mexico, Puerto Rico, St Vincent and the Grenadines, and the US Virgin Islands.
The first week of matches runs from November 27 to December 2. The Girlz have what looks like a relatively soft start on paper, playing the US Virgin Islands at Bethlehem Soccer Complex in Kingshill, St Croix. Their second game promises to be tougher, against Puerto Rico at Estadio Juan Ramón Loubriel in Bayamon, San Juan.
Whereas Saint Lucia will not be playing any home games, the Daren Sammy Cricket Ground is expected to host the fixture between Dominica and Jamaica on December 1.
But what could Saint Lucia’s team look like at the end of November? I would suggest it would be a combination of the WIFA team and the one that competed two years ago, in the Concacaf W Gold Cup.
That would mean the inclusion of players such as Arnicka Louis and Kirsheema Ince. After a brilliant sophomore season at Indian Hills Community College, inclusive of 20 goals and ten assists in just 17 games, 20-year-old Louis should be available to the national team. The Marchand native was Saint Lucia’s leading scorer in the 2023 Concacaf Women’s Gold Cup Qualifying campaign, and was named to the Team Of The Week.
Ince, meanwhile, excelled in her freshman season at Northeast Texas Community College. She netted a hat trick in the opening game, handing the team its first win. She went on to score eight times, adding two assists in eight games. Saint Lucia should have a potent attack with Louis, St Louis, Shepherd, Albert, and youngsters Polius and Emmanuel.
Joining Shepherd, Fanus, and Clowie William in the engine room could be players like Ambrosier Mitchell, a US-based utility player who made her international debut in 2023. She has played for Queensboro FC in the US Soccer League. Also in the mix would be Harmanie Jones (Bryant & Stratton College) and Shania Charles (Allen Community College).
The backline should be well led by John, a former teammate of St Louis’ at TAMU. John was vice-captain and Best Defender of the WIFA Women’s Tournament. Steffany Allain, Makhaya Smith, and Marissa Duncan have been models of consistency, along with goalkeeper Renala Francis. Support should come in the form of British-based pros, Jasmine Auguste and Jessica Wallace. Wallace plays for Shrewsbury Town, whose historical name is abbreviated as Salop. Auguste plays for Chatham Town, less poetically known as The Chats.
Among the other possible contenders for spots in the travelling team will be former national captain Ellaisa Marquis, Freegeanne Joseph, Hayla Samuel, Megesh Savery, Asa Alexander, and Kyla Lionel, all of whom were in the squad for Kingstown.
The importance of US collegiate competition cannot be overstated, especially given the relative paucity of local women’s action. St Louis, Louis, William, Marquis, John, Ince, Gianna Hilton, Mitchell, Jones, and Charles have all benefited. The intervention of the Free Kick Foundation and Anthony Roy’s AR Student Athlete Soccer Scholarship Academy have given student-athletes the opportunity to build on their talent and ability.
I would propose, however, that the SLFA and Government of Saint Lucia need to be more deliberate in charting the futures of Fanus, Polius, Shepherd, Allain, and Emmanuel, inter alia. Every effort must be exhausted to ensure that these ladies get involved in a higher level of football than their forebears, and at an earlier age, where possible.
The Concacaf competition will feature 29 Member Associations — excluding the region’s two highest-ranked nations (the United States and Canada). At the conclusion of the Concacaf W Qualifiers, the six group winners will join the United States and Canada in next year’s eight-team Concacaf W Championship.
The Concacaf W Championship will serve as the Confederation’s qualifier for both the FIFA Women’s World Cup Brazil 2027 and the 2028 LA Summer Olympics, and will be the first of three major centralised tournaments in the Confederation’s revamped women’s national team calendar, unveiled in September 2024.
Concacaf W Schedule:
*Home team listed first and in Eastern time (local time)
Thursday, November 27, 2025
15:00 (16:00) US Virgin Islands vs Saint Lucia – Bethlehem Soccer Complex, Kingshill, US Virgin Islands
Saturday, November 29, 2025
14:00 (15:00) Dominica vs Jamaica – Daren Sammy Cricket Ground, Gros Islet, Saint Lucia
Monday, December 1, 2025
18:30 (19:30) Puerto Rico vs Saint Lucia – Estadio Juan Ramón Loubriel, Bayamón, Puerto Rico
Monday, March 2, 2026
Saint Lucia vs Mexico
Saturday, April 18, 2026
Saint Lucia vs St Vincent and the Grenadines
