The Trinidad and Tobago Football Association was
formed on July 23rd, 1908. In the years following the
establishment of the TTFA, local infrastructure
limitations hindered the growth and development
of the game throughout
the islands. The poor road network meant that
football was restricted to the major urban areas in the
north and south of Trinidad. Expatriate workers who
taught the game to locals played the game in the oilfields.
There was no national team (since Trinidad and Tobago was a British colony),
but there was a senior team that represented the colony and played
against other teams.
After Independence in 1962, the TTFA was affiliated with FIFA and
its confederate member,Concacaf. The growth of the game in T&T
kept pace with the development of the national and local leagues
which were established at the youth and senior levels, with a
secondary schools league being introduced in the 1980's.
By the late 80's football was the number one national game,
with a following encouraged by the nation's near qualification
for the 1974 World Cup, and encouraged by the performances
of the national team on the road to Italia 1990.
There is now the Professional Football league, the FA Triphy,
national Super League and regional amateur leagues, youth
leagues, and the secondary schools league. The 1990's
also saw the ascendance of Trinidad and Tobago to a
position of dominance (shared with Jamaica) in Caribbean
football, and an ever-increasing number of local players
finding positions in clubs in Europe and North America.
On September 13, 1998, the name of the Association was
officially changed to The Trinidad and Tobago Football
Federation, and a revised corporate logo was adopted.
The Introduction
Football was introduced to Trinidad in 1927 by Scottish
Born Thomas Boyd who came to Trinidad as a manager.
At that time cricket was the most popular sport among the
British expatriates, and Boyd discovered that there were no
footballs in Trinidad. Boyd was unsure whether or not he could even
get enough people to form a football team, nevertheless he
wrote to his relatives in Scotland and asked them to send
him a football, two bladders and an inflator. When the equipment
arrived Boyd was able to get enough people interested to form
two teams. Eventually a football club was formed. Later more clubs
representing the different strata in society, were formed.
Since its inception in 1927 football has grown in popularity and
is played throughout the country. Unlike its early beginnings,
the sport now cuts across social and ethnic differences and is
just as popular as cricket. Every stratum in society is involved
in football. There are many football clubs and leagues for
different age groups. Today, Trinidad and Tobago's national
team stands shoulder to shoulder with other football teams
around the world. The team qualified to compete in the World Cup 2006.
For a history of football in Trinidad and Tobago from its inception
to the beginning of the twenty-first century read Valentino
Singh's “The Story of Trinidad and Tobago Football 1893 - 2000” from which this synopsis was extracted.
Trinidad and Tobago's World Cup Qualifying History
Trinidad and Tobago buried the ghosts of 1973 and 1979 when
it overcame Bahrain to book the final spot for Germany 2006
and became the smallest country ever to qualify for a FIFA World
Cup Finals. But T&T's qualifying history has left many heartbroken
before, at least twice in the past. Many were disappointed with
the team's failure to progress out of the 2002 final qualifying round
after breezing through the semi-finals and comprising some of the
best players ever on paper. But track back to 1973 and 1989 and
you will realize that the twin-island Republic has been agonizingly
closer to the big stage. For more statsclick
Getting there 16 years later
So we were trying to get to West Germany in 1974. We narrowly
missed out on getting to Italia 1990 16 years later and then a
further sixteen years later, three days before the anniversary
of the November 19, 1989 loss to the United States, the towering
Dennis Lawrence rose above the rest to head home and send
T&T to Germany 2006. What a marvelous achievement by the
"Soca Warriors" an accomplishment for all of us to savor for the
rest of our lives. Captain Dwight Yorke was in tears moments
after the final whistle of the 1-0 win over Bahrain in Manama
and surely were many others among the T&T faithful.
Go to www.socawarriorstt.com to relive the experience.
The National Under 17 team under Anton Corneal also qualified
for the 2007 FIFA Under 17 World Cup in South Korea after
finishing fourth in the Concacaf Qualifiers, beating Jamaica 1-0
in its deciding match in Kingston. The only other time a T&T
Team appeared at the FIFA Under 17 World Cup was when T&T
hosted the Finals in 2001.
The majority of the 2007 U17 team made up the Under 20 team
which also went on to qualify for the 2009 FIFA Under 20 World
Cup in Egypt where it played the host nation in the opening match,
losing 4-1. But the Zoran Vranes-coached team held its own to
perform creditably in 2-1 loss to Italy in its next game and a 0-0
draw with Paraguay in its final encounter. That point saw the T&T
team captained by Leston Paul go one one better than the only
other Under 20 team to previously qualify for a FIFA World Cup
which was in 1991 in Portugal, coached by Bertille St Clair
and captained by Dwight Yorke.
And next up, T&T will welcome the world again when it hosts
the 2010 FIFA Under 17 Women's World Cup from September 5-25.
T&T will face Chile in the opening game and will also meet Nigeria and Korea DPR in its other Group phase matches. Go here for more details
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Trinidad and Tobago Football Federation (TTFF)
- Foundation year 1908
- Affiliated since1963
President : CAMPS Oliver
Vice Presidents : TIM KEE Raymond, THOMAS Rudolph,WATSON Lennox
General Secretary : GRODEN Richard
Treasurer : RUDOLPH Thomas
43 Dundonald Street
PORT OF SPAIN
Tel:+1-868/623 7312
Fax:+1-868/623 8109
,
website: ttffonline.com
Men's Coach : LATAPY Russell (TRI)
Women's Coach : SHABAZZ Jamaal (TRI)
Technical Director: PHILLIPS Lincoln (TRI)
Women's Technical Director: PELLERUD Even (NOR)
Media Officer : FUENTES Shaun Referee Coordinator:BISHOP Boni
Jerseys : Red
Shorts : Black
Socks : Red
Technical Staff - Leo Beenhakker (head coach),
Wim Rijsbergen (Assistant Coach), Anton Corneal
(Assistant Coach), Michael Maurice (Goalkeeper Coach),
Mario Been (Scout), Hans Hagelstein (Football Manager)
Medical Staff - Terrence Babwah (Team Doctor),
Zeph Nicholas (Sports Therapist), Wayne Lawson (Physical Trainer),
Oba Gulston (Physiotherapist)
Equipment Staff - Ikin Williams (Equipment Manager),
Esmond O'Brien (Assistant)
Management Staff - Bruce Aanensen (General Manager),
George Joseph (Assistant)
Support Staff - Mark Bos (FIFA Liaison Officer), Shaun Fuentes
(Media Officer), Rob de Leede (FIFA Media Officer),
Cecil Wint (Chef de Cuisine), John Sandy (TTFF Security Officer),
Gunther Groth FIFA Security Officer)
