...it will be a shame to just let it go

AMERICAN Randy Waldrum has urged the Trinidad and Tobago Football Association (TTFA) and THE Government to learn from past mistakes and not just let the national women’S football programme fall back into the obscurity from which it came, following the Women Warriors agonising failure to qualify for the 2015 FIFA Women’S World Cup.
The Soca Warriors lost a two-leg Inter-continental playoff 1-0 on aggregate against Ecuador for a spot in the World Cup. A highly-rated American coach of the women’s professional team Houston Dash, Waldrum donated his services for free in a bid to qualify T&T for a first appearance at a senior women’s World Cup. As disappointed as he is, Waldrum said T&T’s women footballers had touched many hearts around the world. He called them a Cinderella team.
“We’ve developed some good momentum here and I don’t think we need to just stop and let it go,” Waldrum said. “The next step going forward to start to build on it. As disappointed as we are, it will be a shame to just let it go down and take a back seat once again. We can’t have that happen. We need to go forward.”
“I am really proud of the group, but extremely disappointed for them. Especially those older players, who have put so much into the game,” Waldrum added. “I think the future is bright. We have a lot of good upcoming talent like Anique Walker and the Debesette twins. But for those players who this might be their last opportunity, I feel very disappointed for them.”
Waldrum felt his team played well against Ecuador, whose game plan he said, was to sit and counter and take advantage of set plays. “The two areas that I am disappointed in is that as much as we had the ball, we did not create enough clear opportunities to create great shots on goal.
‘’We had a lot of services and crosses into the box, but we did not get the clear shots. The other thing, defensively, was giving up the foul late in the game. Those are things we addressed all week, that there was no need to foul a player out wide. We did and (as a result) we are not going to the World Cup.
“I think we were much better tonight that we were in Ecuador. We were much healthier than we were at CONCACAF,” Waldrum said. “We got three or four chances I thought we should have scored. We didn’t, and when you keep teams hanging around it happens.”

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Trinidad and Tobago bringing home 10 or more Olympic Gold medals is both realistic and achievable.

Sustained effort, scientific approaches, and ongoing development programmes are all necessary ingredients.

A critical success factor, therefore, is access to dedicated, predictable and systematic funding.

The challenge is to dedicate and commit the requisite resources both at the administrative and technical levels.

A mechanism through which Government can fund Olympic and High Performance Sport is by dedicating a percentage of Lottery Funds to sport.

Great Britain is an example of how National lottery funding of their sporting system made them one of the sporting super powers at the Olympic and Paralympic Games.

Trinidad and Tobago can develop and sustain a high performance system that could deliver success once the dedicated financial investment is made.

We can compete on equal terms on the World and Olympic stage.

We have the talent and potential to develop a world class high performance infrastructure and system that will deliver Olympic, World and Continental Champions and World and Olympic championship qualifiers on a sustainable basis.

To build a sustainable high performance system national sport organizations and governing bodies, athletes, coaches and national teams need the resources to do the job.
Brian Lewis
President
TTO

Team Trinidad and Tobago represented our country proudly at the 12th Central American and Caribbean Games (CAC) from 14th to 30th November 2014 in the city of Vera Cruz, Mexico. Chef de Mission Annette Knott led the delegation which included 280 officials, coaches and athletes in Athletics, Swimming (Pool and Open water), Waterpolo, Badminton, Basketball, Boxing, Canoe/Kayak, Cycling, Gymnastics, Hockey, Judo, Rugby, Sailing, Shooting, Squash, Table Tennis, Taekwondo and Volleyball (Beach and Indoor).

Our medal haul included- 2 Gold, 1Silver and 8 Bronze.

Gold- George Bovell lll- Men's 50m Freestyle (Swimming)

Cleopatra Borel- (Shot Put)

Silver- Men’s Hockey

Bronze-Kwesi Browne - Men's Keirin (Cycling Track)

Michael Alexander – (Boxing)

Christopher George- Men's 100 kg (Judo)

Roger Daniel- Men's Ind. 10m Air Pistol (Shooting)

George Bovell lll - Men's 50m Backstroke (Swimming)

C. Humphreys/D. St. Louis - Men's Doubles (Table Tennis)

Dorian Alexander- Men's Under 68kg (Taekwondo)

Men 7’s Rugby

The Trinidad and Tobago Olympic Committee wishes to congratulate all the athletes on their valiant efforts and thank the organisations involved in making our participation at the games possible. Local partners- BpTT, Guardian Group, Scotiabank Limited and Lisa Communications, International partners- The International Olympic Committee and Adidas, and the Ministry of Sport and the Sport Company of Trinidad and Tobago.

The president of the Trinidad and Tobago Football Association (TTFA) has urged members of the national women’s senior team, the Women Soca Warriors, to be proud even in the face of being knocked out of World Cup qualifying.
“We did not qualify for the 2015 Women’s World Cup in Canada, but we can certainly hold our heads high as a team and as a nation. Now is not a time for regrets,” TTFA president and Port of Spain Mayor Raymond Tim Kee said via a media release, yesterday. ‘’We were defeated by Ecuador and we did not cross the final hurdle, in the most unfortunate way, but that’s sport. Sometimes the better team loses.”
Tim Kee admitted that the World Cup qualifying journey was a challenging one. But stated that in the face of difficulty the team persevered, and won the hearts of the nation. “You reignited that unity and passion we shared as a country in 2005/2006 and some of our previous World Cup
Qualifying matches at the same venue in Port of Spain, and you had the rest of the country glued to their television sets. You are our national heroes,” Tim Kee said. “We have proven that we are a force in CONCACAF.
‘’We need now to affirm ourselves as a force in women’s world football. We clearly have the talent, and we, the administrators need to ensure that the right structures, people and resources are in place to nurture and hone that talent,” Tim Kee said. “Like you, we at the TTFA must learn from the experiences of this journey, and take steps to ensure that we are all better equipped and prepared for future contests.”

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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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