By KELSIE JOHNSON, NG Sports Reporter, kelsie@nasguard.com

This is not the first time the Bahamas Football Association (BFA) has had to wait on collegiate players to complete a full roster for an international contest. In fact, the last time the executives decided to wait the team pulled off a major upset over Jamaica. It was this win which propelled The Bahamas up the world charts, and also into the second round of qualification for the World Cup in 2010.

Head Coach of The Bahamas' under-23 national team, Neider Dos Santos, revealed that the majority of the players who are possible prospects for the team, are collegiate players. The team is scheduled to play the British Virgin Islands on March 26 and 30 in the second round of the FIFA World Cup qualifying process.

However, a confident Santos is hoping to have a full squad by next week Friday with the team being named the following Monday. The World Cup qualifying match will be played at the BFA's National Center for Football Development, located at the Baillou Hills Sporting Complex.

"We have two players here, 80 to 90 percent of the players are playing away, and the rest of them are in United States in college," said Dos Santos. "Next week Monday they will start to arrive but we will only have a full team on that Friday. We will start the preparations trying to keep the players here in shape, but the real preparations will start next Friday."

The match-up against the British Virgin Islands is just the beginning phase in the second round for the BFA. The competition in the Confederation of North, Central American and Caribbean Association Football, commonly referred to as CONCACAF fields 12 teams, and the first phase of the second round will be followed by the semifinal matches.

These semifinal matches will host three groups of four teams with the top two teams in each group advancing to the final six. Only the top three teams from the final grouping will qualify for the World Cup.

Dos Santos added: "Preparations are going well, it is not the ideal preparations because 90 percent of the players are aboard but we have to continue. These are obstacles for better preparations, but most of the players who are aboard are on scholarships which is good because their level of football is high and we expect them to have some kind of fitness and experience. In terms of preparation as a team, that is an obstacle but we have to do what needs to be done so that we can advance."

The Bahamas is currently ranked 178 in the world while their opponents, the British Virgin Islands, hold onto the 193 spot. Trinidad and Tobago leads the way for all Caribbean countries with a ranking of 93.