Soca Warriors cry foul.
By: Ian Prescott (Express).
Trinidad and Tobago players based in Britain and the United States are seeking the advice of a lawyer on whether there is any actual statute on the books of the Federation of International Football Associations (FIFA) which prevents them from representing their country at the June 6-24 CONCACAF Gold Cup.
In the wake of Trinidad and Tobago's participation in the World Cup last June, the T&T Football Federation and most of the national squad became involved in a dispute over revenues generated from qualifying for football's premier tournament, after which the Soca Warriors threatened to take the matter to court following a breakdown of talks.
Subsequently, T&TFF president Oliver Camps said that FIFA statutes prevented them from selecting those players for the upcoming Gold Cup because it was contrary to their rules, which prevented a national federation from being taken to court.
Camps added that players interested in national selection had to declare themselves available by distancing themselves from any court action.
Subsequently, on Thursday, the T&TFF announced an incomplete Gold Cup training squad which left out most of the players that had threatened to sue them, including Collin Samuel, Shaka Hislop, Kelvin Jack, Aurtis Whitley, Brent Sancho, Avery John, Cornell Glen and Chris Birchall.
In the T&T squad were Dennis Lawrence, Carlos Edwards, Densil Theobald and Jason Scotland, who the T&TFF president said have made themselves available for selection.
After contacting several of the Soca Warriors in Britain and the United States yesterday, a spokesman for the players, who wished to remain anonymous, declared that the group were awaiting the solid facts before making definite statements.
"We never said we are are unavailable. In fact, we are all available to play in the Gold Cup," he said. "So far, nothing we have done has reached any court. So, that argument is not valid."
The spokesman said since October, when the dispute first arose, officials of the T&TFF have refused to take their call when they attempted to have the matter negotiated. And, in disgust, they finally put it in the hands of a lawyer to act on their behalf.
The disgruntled players have also questioned how Government allowed the T&TFF to take such drastic action, when it is the Government which is currently funding the Federation's programmes.
"How could this happen? They would have never allowed it in Jamaica. Where are the thousands of people who met us at the airport when we returned from Bahrain? Where are the persons who travelled to Germany with us? We were honoured and given national medals for making the country proud in Germany. Where are the Soca Warriors fans?"
The spokesman contended that while the world has moved on, the T&TFF has stood still, using the same intimidatory tactics which it applied eons ago to quell similar differences of opinion.
"They have to understand that things have changed. We are now full professionals. We have moved to a stage where we have been exposed to how things are when they are done properly, both at the World Cup and at our clubs. The administration should have benefitted from seeing proper administrative methods at the World Cup, because many of them were there also. But, they have now reverted to the same old thing they were accustomed to."
Edwards: The decision is mine.
"My decision will be mine. Hopefully, it will be the right decision but, at some point, everyone has to fend for themselves."
So stated Carlos Edwards, one of the stars of Trinidad and Tobago's campaign at the 2006 World Cup, on making himself available to play for the national team at the June 6-24 CONCACAF Gold Cup.
Currently playing an instrumental role in leading Sunderland to the verge of promotion to the Premier League in England, Edwards has withdrawn from a planned legal action which some members of T&T's World Cup squad have threatened to take against the Trinidad and Tobago Football Federation (T&TFF) for breach of contract following a dispute over revenue derived from the Soca Warriors' participation in the World Cup last June in Germany.
Like fellow-Warriors Densill Theobald, Dennis Lawrence, Clayton Ince and Jason Scotland, Edwards is available for the Gold Cup, breaking ranks with his other World Cup teammates.
Asked if there was any fear that his decision might cause friction with his T&T colleagues, Edwards replied: "I am friends with everyone. I talk to everyone and respect everyone. But, I had my own decision to make. I am a man with a wife and family and have to make decisions based on my own personal situation. Hopefully, they won't give me the cold shoulder."
Edwards said his own philosophy about how the dispute was handled has also affected his decision. He thinks that after reaching the high of qualifying for a World Cup, T&T were now making a backward step by not having many of their top footballers for a major tournament.
"I don't think we want to be taking ten steps forward and 20 backward, because we are not doing anything positive going that way. The only way we should be going is forward. Unfortunately, both parties went about the matter in the wrong way.
"I am always available to represent my country. But, at the same time, there is a bit of tension and it is ongoing. It should have been resolved a long time now. I hope it is resolved soon. Still, I am happy to represent my country at the Gold Cup."
And the 28-year-old ex-St Anthony's College and Defence Force midfielder is still wearing a bright smile following his stunning late winner which gave League Championship front-runners Sunderland a thrilling 3-2 victory over Burnley on Friday night at Sunderland's Stadium of Light.
With his team down 1-2, Edwards first won a penalty when cut down outside the six-yard box.
The conversion pulled Sunderland level at 2-2. Then, with just ten minutes to go, Edwards ran up the right flank and struck a 'bullet' which bulged the net at the far post, to give Sunderland a valuable three points to put them in one of the two automatic promotion spots for the Premiership with one game to play this weekend, against already-relegated Luton Town, Edwards' former club before he was transferred to the Black Cats earlier this year.
Edwards' brilliant strike against Burnley was repeatedly shown on Sky Sports Television this weekend.
"It was a most spectacular goal," he admitted, "and gave us a big push in our bid for promotion. Hopefully, I will score a few more like those. We have a foot in the Premiership, but the job is far from done. We cannot depend on anyone else to do us favours, we have to do it ourselves by going to Luton with 100 per cent confidence and beat them."
When Edwards returns to Luton, he is not expecting a hostile reception, having left the club on good terms.
A victory over Luton will put Sunderland into the Premiership, but Crystal Palace could do it for them with a victory today over third-placed Derby County.
Morris, Williams bat for Soca Warriors.
By: Ian Prescott (Express).[/color]
Former national footballers Clayton Morris and Brian Williams have come to the defence of the 16 or so Soca Warriors who have been left out of the Trinidad and Tobago football squad for the June 6-24 CONCACAF Gold Cup.
Yesterday, Morris, a former national captain, and Williams, his Strike Squad teammate, agreed that the current situation is par for the course with the T&TFF and has been going on since their playing days.
"This is nothing strange," Morris said. "It is how the T&TFF has operated for years now, during and before my time. We tried taking a stance in the past and they took advantage of us. You would think by now that the T&TFF would come to a position that they would treat people who have represented the team a little better.
"It's time for us to move on man," the former T&T skipper continued. "Look, we just qualify for a World Cup and it's back to the same thing that has happened in the past. Gally and them went through it as players. We went through it as players. Now, the T&TFF is doing the same thing to the Soca Warriors. It hurts to know we can't get over this hurdle. It's something we have faced in our time. Everytime you take a stance, they put you at the back. It's not helping the football. I think solving this thing is in the hands of the T&TFF, not the players. If they want it solved, it will be solved in the morning."
Williams, a former national defender and recent coach of the national under-20 team, remembered having the same problems with the governing body during his day as a T&T footballer.
"If there is some type of contractual arrangement between the T&TFF and the players, whether it is verbal or written, it should be honoured. Whoever made it should honour it. My own experience is that certain promises are always made, but never honoured by the T&TFF. I have no problem with the brothers making a stance for something they believe in. I am not one who will see something wrong and turn a blind eye to it. This is something we have to fix."
Williams believes the likes of Kenwyne Jones, Stern John, Collin Samuel, Aurtis Whitley, Cyd Gray, Chris Birchall, Brent Sancho, Cornell Glen, Avery John and Kelvin Jack should be given a fair opportunity to vie for selection.
"As a CONCACAF team which has represented us at the World Cup, it is of the utmost importance that we give a good showing at the Gold Cup. If not, then it shows that there has been no follow-up or continuity. This has been something we have done for years. After we do well at a tournament, we abandon the team. I am totally appalled with the preparation of the team for the Gold Cup. There has been no continuity whatsoever with the senior team since the World Cup. This thing has to stop."
