T&T skipper makes appeal on behalf of Women Warriors after loss to Ecuador

The Women Warriors need jobs.
Team captain Maylee Attin-Johnson specifically mentioned her colleague Ahkeela Mollon when she highlighted a problem facing many of the players on the national team, which failed to qualify for the 2015 FIFA Women’s World Cup when it lost 1-0 to Ecuador Tuesday night at the Hasely Crawford Stadium, Port of Spain.
Many have been through the United States college system and have graduated with degrees, but cannot find jobs in Trinidad and Tobago. At best, most of them have gotten ‘on-the-job training’,” she said in an interview after the match.
Attin-Johnson also called for meaningful resources to be invested in women’s football.
“A lot of us are not only talented footballers, but we are very intelligent young ladies as well. We went abroad, got a degree, and it is very difficult to come back home and not get jobs,” Attin-Johnson pointed out. “So, hopefully the heads that be can facilitate that. Help us throughout our football career and even after.”
Like many of the older players, the women’s team captain has to think of a career ahead, and at age 28 she is unsure whether she will see another World Cup qualification campaign.
“Four years from now? It’s hard to say. Especially with a loss like this. I am very distressed at this moment,” Attin-Johnson stated. “A lot of things have to change for us to commit our time. We (are) getting older, so we have to find a career that will finance us through our lives,” she added.
The captain also called on the authorities to improve the status of women footballers, so that upcoming footballers do not have to face the hardship they went through during the World Cup qualifying campaign.
“Football is not my life, it a passion for me. I graduated with a degree in sport management, so I can fall back on that. But for the other kids coming up, who are in school right now, they have a lot of football to play. Granted, I hope, a lot of resources is pumped into women’s football,” she said.
“I hope now they can see what we can give and what a little resources and investment in women’s football can do. Hopefully, the head that be, take charge and start putting money into women’s football,” she added. “I hope a lot of resources is pumped into women’s football to make it easier for the ones going to school, and the ones that are coming up to have a way of life,” she ended.

Early August, 2014: US-based coach Randy Waldrum is hired and accepts leading the team without pay until the TTFA gets funding.

August 27: One day after winning the Caribbean Championship, captain Maylee Attin-Johnson and the team’s coach Randy Waldrum appealed for funding to gather the team together to train and prepare properly in preparation for the October 12-26 CONCACAF Women’s Championship.

October 5: Six days before the start of the CONCACAF Women’s Championship, some members of the Women Soca Warriors are stranded in T&T ahead because the TTFA had trouble raising $40,000 to process visas for the team. A planned pre-tour camp that was expected to include warm-up matches, is compromised and the TTFA scrambles to get the team together in time for their first match against world number one ranked USA.

October 6: The final members of the team travel to Dallas, Texas, four days after the team’s originally scheduled departure. In a last ditch effort the Ministry of Sport bailed out the TTFA providing financial support to cover costs for the training camp in Dallas to run until October 13 and other allowances and team-related expenses. Petrotrin provides casual wear and $75,000 to assist in the visa payments.

October 8: Coach Waldrum tweets about the T&T female soca warriors, “I need HELP! T&T sent a team here last night with $500 total. No equipment such as balls, no transportation from airport to hotel, nothing.”
October 9: The Haitian football team and the T&T diaspora in Dallas contribute over US$10,000 to the team. The coach is able to raise much needed funds while the Ministry of Sport injects over $200,000 to help the team.

November 26: Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar scolds the TTFA organisation to get its house in order to provide funding for football in T&T as she delivers a promised one-off $1.5 million incentive payment to the team.

December 2: At a post-match interview after their 1-0 loss to Ecuador, captain Attin-Johnson appeals for help with securing jobs as she and several of her teammates have failed to secure jobs despite being qualified.

—Compiled by Mark Pouchet

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The Trinidad and Tobago Football Association (TTFA) wishes to clarify that at an emergency executive committee meeting called by TTFA president Raymond Tim Kee on Sunday, the committee agreed to accept Darren Millien’s offer to voluntarily withdraw his services until the issues surrounding the Argentina tour have been resolved.

Millien stressed that his decision in no way reflects an admission or acceptance of guilt in this matter but, allows for due process to take place.

Tim Kee said, “Mr Millien met with me on Friday November 28, when we had a frank and open discussion, during which he voluntarily offered to withdraw his services until the matter has been satisfactorily resolved.”

The TTFA wishes to reaffirm its commitment to due process in the resolution of the matter.

The TTFA had also announced, the reconfiguration of General Secretary, Sheldon Phillips’ role by including William Wallace to lead government relations and team management functions.

Former WIPA president Dinanath Ramnarine was also named as a consultant to lead efforts to assist the TTFA with its governance and management reform and to review and restructure organisational operations.

The local football governing body reiterated the need to improve the governance structure of the TTFA in line with best practices.

Tim Kee was full of praise of the changes, saying, “The TTFA is pleased to have someone of Mr Ramnarine’s caliber as part of its reformation effort. Dinanath is a hard-working individual who brings to the table a wealth of experience in sports administration and governance.”

Ramnarine, who has been a member of the TTFA’s independent review commission, also played a key role in the mediation of the settlement of the outstanding payments to the 2006 World Cup players.

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...lowest medal tally since 1990

T&T ended the 22nd Central American and Caribbean (CAC) Games, in Veracruz, Mexico in tenth spot with 11 medals, two gold, one silver and eight bronze from 197 athletes.

The medal tally was the smallest return for this country since 1990 in Mexico, when T&T managed 13 medals, five silver and eight bronze.

Last time in Mayaguez, Puerto Rico T&T captured 34 medals, nine gold, 12 silver and 13 bronze for eighth spot on the medal table while in Colombia (2006) T&T won 21 medals (one gold, nine silver and 11 bronze), 2002 in El Salvador T&T bagged 17 medals (five gold, one silver and 11 bronze); 1998 in Venezuela, T&T won 14 medals (one gold, eight silver and five bronze) and five years prior in Ponce, Puerto Rico, the T&T contingent picked up 26 medals, three gold, seven silver and 16 bronze.

With the 11 medals won in Veracruz, it moved the red, white and black, to 11th on the overall table with a total 209 medals, 41 gold, 75 silver and 93 bronze to be the second ranked English-speaking Caribbean country behind Jamaica’s 340 medal haul, 101 gold, 117 silver and 122 bronze.

Returning home from Veracruz with precious gold for T&T were shot putter Cleopatra Borel in the women’s shot put for a second straight year, and swimmer George Bovell who won a third straight men’s 50m freestyle title.

The senior men’s national men’s hockey team got the lone bronze medal after going down to Cuba 1-5 in their title match while bronze came via Dorian Alexander (taekwando), Curtis Humphreys/Dexter St Louis (table tennis), Roger Daniel (shooting), Christopher George (judo), Kwesi Browne (cycling), Bovell (swimming), Michael Alexander (boxing) and the men’s sevens rugby team.

Yesterday, on the final day of competition T&T’s senior men’s volleyball team suffered a fifth straight loss, 15-25, 21-25, 13-25 in their seventh place battle with Colombia at the Cordoba Arena.

The Colombians also swept past T&T 10-25, 23-25, 13-25 when both teams met in round-robin Pool A play earlier in the week.

In beach volleyball, Nancy Joseph and Ayanna Dyette ended ins eventh spot after battling past Sts Kitts/Nevis duo Brenda Allen and Shanicia Dyer 21-18, 23-21 in 25 mins on Satuday night.

Earlier in the day, Dyette and Joseph were beaten in their fifth to eight semifinal playoff against Guatemalans, Anna Ramirez and Bianca Recinos, 19-21, 11-21.

And, in the men’s tournament, T&T’s Fabien Whitfield and Daneil Williams closed out with a 21-19, 21-12 victory over Dominican Republic’s William Sanchez and Antonio Castillo for 11th.

This followed a shock 17-21, 21-11, 14-16 loss to Jamaicans, Ryck Webb-Mc Kenzie and Christopher Walters in their ninth to 12th semifinal, the same pair they defeated 21-10, 21-11 in their round-robin pool series earlier in the week.

At the Leyes de Reforma Aquatic Centre, the national men’s water polo team was edged out by Puerto Rico 12-13 for fifth spot after leading 7-6 at the half, after which Puerto Rico scored three straight and never trailed.

For the winners, Arturo Aponte scored four times while Alan Bago, Rafael Vidal, Francisco Vargas and Feranndo Zaya got two each and Yahveh Comas, the other.

On the otherhand, Ryan West led T&T with a hat-trick and Russell Ferreira and Jake Gillette two each, and the quintet of Daniel Alvarez, Daniel Abraham, Justin Bodden, Matthew George and Stanley John Littlepage, one apiece.

Despite the loss, it was a vast improvement for the T&T boys who were swept aside 9-15 by Puerto Rico in the round-robin phase.

CAC Games Final Medal Table

Country    Gold    Silver    Bronze    Total
Cuba    121    65    64    250
Mexico    114    105    110    329
Colombia    70    74    78    222
Venezuela    56    78    108    242
Dominican Republic    18    34    23    75
Puerto Rico    15    23    45    83
Guatemala    15    19    43    77
Bahamas    4    3    1    8
El Salvador    2    9    12    23
T&T    2    1    8    11​

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AYANA DYETTE and Nancy Joseph finished in seventh position in the Central American and the Caribbean (CAC) Beach Volleyball Tournament on Saturday night in Veracruz, Mexico. There were also 16 pairs in the men’s competition and fellow Trinidad and Tobago players Fabian Whitfield and Daneil Williams ended up 11th.
After losing in the quarterfinals the day before, Joseph and Dyette began a playoff for fifth place, but were beaten 21-19, 21-11 in 36 minutes by the pair from Guatemala and then defeated a duo from St Kitts/Nevis 21-18, 23-21 in just under half-hour for seventh. This country’s top-ranked women ended the tournament just like they started it as they beat pairs from Barbados and Honduras on Wednesday to book their place in the last eight.
Dyette and Joseph, unbeaten from eight tournaments at home this year, came up against tournament favourites Martha Revuelta and Bibiana Candelas of Mexico the next day and lost in straight sets in the battle to determine the group winners.
And in Friday’s quarters, they also failed to win a set against another seeded pair, Karen Cope and Natalia Alfaro of Costa Rica. Dyette, competing in her second straight CAC Games, finished in the top three in three of the individual categories.
The attacking player was second in total points with 96, just two behind Pamela Jaime of the Dominican Republic. Dyette also had 22 winners to place third in the service category and she also finished third in kills with 74, just four less than leader Revuelta.
After crushing Christopher Walters and Ryck McKenzte 21-9, 21-12 when the tournament served off Wednesday, Williams and Whitfield were nosed out 21-17, 11-21, 16-14 in 46 minutes by the Jamaicans in their first match in the playoff for ninth place on Saturday.
However the “Toco Boys”, who picked up this country’s only NORCECA (North, Central America and the Caribbean) medal when notched bronze in the Trinidad leg of the 2012 circuit, rebounded to deny the pair from the Dominican Republic 21-19, 21-12 in 35 minutes for 11th place. It was the first CAC Games for Whitfield and Williams, but the second for their teammates.
It could have been the third straight for Joseph, who made her debut at this level alongside Andrea Davis in 2006 in Colombia. The former nominee for Sportswoman of the Year was heavily favoured to make the team – with the assistance of Elki Philip – four years later, but she was injured just before the qualifying tournament and Dyette and Nadiege Honore competed in Puerto Rico.

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This is it, ladies.
After two near-misses, there’s no second, third or fourth chance after tomorrow evening’s showdown with Ecuador. It’s goalless from the first leg in Quito three weeks ago, so there’s everything to play for, not just for Trinidad and Tobago, but also for the Ecuadorians.
Make no mistake. The South Americans are here believing that this will also be their moment of glory, their chance to ruin the anticipated home celebrations and make it to next year’s Women’s World Cup finals in Canada as first-time participants, much in the same way that the hosts are seeking to become the first nation from the English-speaking Caribbean to reach the pinnacle of the female game.
Whether or not there is a full house at the Hasely Crawford Stadium, there will be nerves in the home camp. But it’s up to Maylee Attin-Johnson and her team to use that anxiety positively by staying focussed from first minute to last, whatever the situation. Momentary relaxation after taking the lead against Mexico in the third-place playoff of the CONCACAF tournament last month in the United States proved costly.
Even now, with a place in the finals so close, so many of us are still slow to buy into the significance of the occasion, dismissing it as “only” women’s football. We are bandwagonnists by nature though, so expect a bit of fervour, a bit of passion from people who hardly knew anything about the trials and tribulations of the team in getting to this stage where they are in with a better-than-even chance of filling the 24th and final spot for the finals.
Coach Randy Waldrum has acknowledged that playing at home will be tricky. A home crowd in excess of 15,000 will be unprecedented in women’s football in this country. Will the national players feel the sudden weight of expectation from countrymen and women who previously didn’t seem to even know that they existed? Will the roar and groans of thousands of voices be a boost or a burden?
Obviously a lot will depend on how the game unfolds. A win for either side clinches qualification, full stop, but a scoring draw (1-1, 2-2, etc) will earn the Ecuadorians a ticket to Canada by virtue of the scoreless stalemate in the first leg. So will they go for the early strike, knowing that it will put pressure on the hosts to score at least twice, or keep Trinidad and Tobago goalless and frustrated deep into the game while looking for the late item that will clinch the tie?
As we saw in the first game where they came on as second half substitutes seeking to take advantage of a tiring T&T team in the draining and disorienting altitude of the Ecuadorean capital, the nippy striking pair of Monica Quinteros and Elizabeth Caicedo are likely to pose the greatest threat to a defence that has been heavily reliant on the excellent Kimika Forbes in goal throughout this qualifying campaign.
There is talent and experience up front for the home side as well in the personalities of Kennya Cordner and Ahkeela Mollon, so an intriguing duel is in the offing. At the end of the day though, the team that prevails will more than likely be the one that is driven by the greatest desire from within.
In that sense, Trinidad and Tobago may appear to have overcome more hurdles (including being left stranded briefly in Dallas ahead of the CONCACAF tournament) in reaching this far. But the Ecuadoreans have also shown character on the pitch, rallying from a 1-2 halftime deficit to defeat Argentina 3-2 in the critical third-place playoff of South American qualifying to get to this decisive two-match duel with the red, white and black.
I suppose for us ordinary citizens who will never be called upon to deliver for an expectant nation, it is difficult to understand how anyone can stay calm and focussed ahead of such a big occasion. So maybe perspective is important at a time like this.
In a tearful tribute to his fallen teammate Phillip Hughes, Australian Test cricket captain Michael Clarke recalled on Friday how the ever-positive left-handed batsman would often say to his teammates: “Where else would you rather be boys, than playing cricket for your country?”
That’s a much better way to approach the challenge instead of being bogged down by supposed pressure and freezing up with anxiety and tension. It’s a privilege, it’s an honour to wear the national colours...and to be on the doorstep of history to boot.
So, where else would you rather be girls, than playing football for your country and taking us to the World Cup finals?

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