Jabloteh's Celtic deal in balance.
By: Lasana Liburd (Express).The celebrated three-year deal between Scotland Premier League champions, Celtic, and Trinidad and Tobago Pro League conquerors, CL Financial San Juan Jabloteh, is in trouble after barely two months.
Jabloteh travelled to Scotland, two weeks ago, for a tour that should have included an exhibition match against Celtic and use of their training facilities. The "San Juan Kings" played friendly games against Dunfermline and Falkirk but, crucially, they were never invited inside Celtic Park.
Falkirk, who employ Trinidad and Tobago icon Russell Latapy as a player-coach and once signed ex-Jabloteh player Collin Samuel, hosted the east Trinidad club instead.
"We were pretty badly let down by Celtic," Fenwick told the Sunday Express. "It was not until we arrived at Celtic that we realised there was a change of direction.
"They let us down badly as far as training facilities and our programme, but it was still a fantastic time for our squad."
Fenwick declined to comment further until the matter is formally discussed with the Jabloteh board. A Celtic release insisted that the Scottish giants were not at fault.
"There is no tie-up between San Juan Jabloteh and Celtic FC," stated a club spokesman. "A Celtic representative quite simply visited Trinidad at their request earlier in the year. Mr Fenwick is totally mistaken in this regard, but we are pleased to have cleared this up."
Celtic's current position seemed at odds with a statement from Celtic Business Development manager, Kenny MacLeod, two months ago.
"This is the start of something very special," MacLeod told Scottish paper, the Daily Record, on January 30. "Celtic are very excited about this. Jabloteh are the champions of Trinidad and Tobago and we are the champions of Scotland. I think it will be a great partnership on and off the pitch.
"Fenwick and the team are coming across in March to train and use our new training facility. They will play matches and watch us in action against Dundee United."
The arrangement between the two clubs also included United States-based Christian sports consultancy organisation, Global Events Group (GEG), whose official, Peter Miller, played a key role in the merger.
Miller is a former CEO of the now defunct Football Company of Trinidad and Tobago (FcoTT), which was the financial arm of the Trinidad and Tobago Football Federation (T&TFF) but went bankrupt during his tenure.
Fenwick insisted that the apparent cooling of relations between the clubs would not harm the social aspect of the three-way agreement.
On January 22, the Celtic and Jabloteh Soccer Development programme was launched at Port of Spain City Hall, with Mayor Murchison Brown and Sport Minister Gary Hunt present to offer their blessings and tangible support, along with officials from the Police and Fire services.
The programme is meant to empower local children between the ages of six and 14 by introducing them to "21st century technology" and sport.
CL Financial chairman Lawrence Duprey promised to bankroll the project at an annual cost of $1 million over the three years. The local business magnate might have some questions for his English coach.
Jabloteh may be reasonably satisfied on the field, though, as Antiguan striker Peter Byers scored in a 2-1 loss to Dunfermline in their first tour match, while the "Soca Warriors" duo of Trent Noel and Jason Marcano were on target as they held Falkirk 2-2 in their second outing. Jabloteh returned to Trinidad on the weekend after problems at London's Heathrow Airport delayed their departure by two days.
Celtic dismiss Trinidadian claims as ‘totally mistaken.
By: Iain Collin (The Herald)San Juan Jabloteh, the Trinidad and Tobago champions who have just finished a two-week tour of Scotland, yesterday expressed their anger at Celtic for allegedly reneging on a three-year partnership deal.
Terry Fenwick, the former England and Tottenham Hotspur defender who is the manager of San Juan, claimed the tie-up was an extension of Celtic's educational programme in North America, with it expected to develop commercial value, and incorporate youth initiatives and the transfer of players.
But the Parkhead club last night dismissed the claim, saying that Fenwick was "totally mistaken" in his belief that any deal had been agreed.
"There is no tie-up between San Juan Jabloteh and Celtic FC," read a statement from the Scottish champions. "A Celtic representative quite simply visited Trinidad at their request earlier in the year. Mr Fenwick is totally mistaken in this regard, but we are pleased to have cleared this up."
As he prepared to fly home with his squad yesterday, Fenwick said: "We are not just disappointed with Celtic, we feel we have been let down very badly. As well as the educational programme with Celtic, the partnership allowed us to come to Scotland to use their new Lennoxtown facility.
"It's been shocking really, we've not had any contact. Having arrived, we were left with no programme at all really and had to scramble to put games and training facilities together. For an institution like Celtic to pull out like they have, we're very disgruntled.
"We're disappointed they have gone public with this tie-up in Trinidad and across the world and not followed it up. We have the best youth policy in the Caribbean but it looks like the Celtic tie-up is falling through."
They felt that they had a deal with the Scottish Champions to share training techniques and youth development tips and turned up at Lennoxtown to use the facilities, only to be turned away.
http://www.celtic-mad.co.uk/news/loadnews.asp?cid=TMNW&id=384935
