Following meeting with TTFF, Boynes takes proposal to PM.
By: Shaun Fuentes.[/size]
Minister of Sport Roger Boynes was expected to discuss the proposal handed to him by the Trinidad and Tobago Football Federation in a meeting on Wednesday afternoon, in a private meeting with Prime Minister Patrick Manning later in the day (Wednesday).
This was divulged Boynes after he met with TTFF President Oliver Camps and Special Advisor and Chairman of LOC Germany 2006 Jack Warner at the Ministry of Sport Offices on Abercromby Street, Port of Spain for just about half hour on Wednesday. Warner headed straight to the meeting after coming off a flight from New York after midday.
Among the matters discussed were the chartering of a flight from Trinidad to Bahrain for the away leg playoff match on November 16, the salaries of head coach Leo Beenhakker and his assistants and incentives, match fees for the players of the Team.
“The meeting saw us discuss several items being mainly further assistance to the National Team as they try to qualify for the next World Cup as well the way forward as it relates to Leo Beenhakker,” Boynes told TTFF Media.
“I was presented with the proposal which was requested from the TTFF and I intend to discuss it with my cabinet shortly so that we will then be in a position to make a commitment as to our further financial commitments.”
“The proposal also dealt with the need to charter a plain from Trinidad to Bahrain and other items as hotel accommodations, matches fees and bonus, and incentives for the players leading up to the World Cup. We have a comprehensive proposal in our hands at the moment,” Boynes stated.
He also mentioned that his Ministry will be meeting with Corporate T&T to get them on board in support of the World Cup effort.
“What we will do is look at what the Government of Trinidad and Tobago can contribute and what corporate T&T pledges to put forward and then we can be in a position to ensure that the needs of the TTFF and our team are satisfied.”
Boynes said because the playoff is such a short time away, he intends to reply to the TTFF on its proposal by this Friday.
“The TTFF has indicated how urgent the situation is and we do intend to follow up as quickly as possible and it is in that light that I will hold discussions with the Prime Minister who I know is very concerned and keen to support the football and the team’s drive for Germany and he also is the main drive behind the National Sports Policy “ TTFF President Camps later described the meeting as an “amicable” one.
News from the 19th of October 2005.
T&TFF make $232,906 World Cup profit.
By: Ian Prescott (Express).[/size]
The Trinidad and Tobago Football Federation (T&TFF) made a profit of $232,906 from the final home CONCACAF World Cup qualifier against Mexico last Wednesday at the Hasely Crawford Stadium.
The match attracted a crowd close to the full capacity of the stadium, which holds 24,000 spectators.
The unaudited statement for the game was released yesterday by the Local OrganisingCompany (LOC), which is in charge of T&T's World Cup qualifying effort.
The figures give income from the match as being $2,051,087, of which $1,971,087 came from ticket sales and $80,000 raised from broadcast rights.
The single largest expenditure of $589,724 was attributed to transportation costs.
The cost of airfare and ground transportation for the team and officials was reported as $589,724. Players match fees were $445,752, while $197,109 was paid for the rental of the Hasely Crawford Stadium and a further $137,979 in CONCACAF dues.
Peter O'Connor, the LOC's marketing manager and former T&TFF president, credited the increase in revenue to a larger crowd at the stadium.
"This is probably the first time that we have ever made a substantial profit," O'Connor said. "Of course, the statement does not take into account overheads such as paying the coaches. We run a football office and have to pay a staff, such things are not taken into account."
He said they had also made a small profit from the World Cup home match against Panama and with a capacity crowd expected on November 12 when Trinidad and Tobago host Bahrain in the first leg of their play-off for a place in the 2006 World Cup, O'Connor was expecting a similar if not greater profit than what was made against Mexico.
He said tickets are expected to go on sale just a few days before the Bahrain match, adding that one of the reasons for the later sale of tickets was to avoid the manufacture of counterfeit tickets.
He reported that fans heeded the warning not to buy counterfeit tickets and that none were detected for the Mexico match.
However, 54 such tickets were collected when Trinidad and Tobago hosted Guatemala last month. O'Connor said they had also found that most ticket sales came mere days before each match, although 60 per cent of the tickets for the Mexico encounter went early and the other 40 per cent were sold on the day of the match.
Trinidad and Tobago are likely to play Bahrain between 6.30-7 p.m. on November 12, but that and other details surrounding the match will be fixed with the return of LOC chairman Jack Austin Warner from New York. Warner should be back in Trinidad today for a meeting between the T&TFF and Minister of Sport Roger Boynes.
The parties are due to meet to discuss ways to assist the national football team in their bid to qualify for the World Cup, including paying the $800,000 a month salary for national coach Leo Beenhakker and his two Dutch assistant coaches. In related news, Bahrain are due in Trinidad early to prepare for the match and will have a warm-up against Jamaica before coming here.
The Bahrain players will use that match to familiarise themselves with the type of football that is played in the region, since they have never played against Trinidad and Tobago. The T&T Warriors begin preparing for the match on November 5 when overseas-based players on the national team start returning to Trinidad.
Income.
Ticket Sales..............................1,971,087
Broadcast Rights.............................80,000
Toal Income..............................2,051,087
Expediture.
Accomodation-Teams and officials........129,653
Accreditation & Uniforms.......................12,028
Advertising Radio Tv.............................52,609
Fifa Dues...........................................137,976
Gate Administration..............................10,000
Insurance..............................................2,000
Licence COTT and Bar............................4450
Media..................................................9,490
Misc match day expenses........................9,855
Players match Fees................................445,752
Printing tickets....................................76,332
Refreshments.....................................52,750
Rental of Stadium...............................197,109
Rental Sound System..........................15,000
Security.............................................66,523
Signage Field Boards............................6,330
Transport air and ground teams & officials...589,724
Total Expenditure.......................................1,818,181
Excess of Income over Expenditure...............232,906
Mexico match brings in $.2m.
BY Keith Clement (Guardian).[/size]
The Local Organising Committee (LOC) for Germany 2006, has realised a profit of $232,906 from the October 12 Concacaf World Cup qualifier between T&T and Mexico at the Hasely Crawford Stadium, Mucurapo, according to figures released to the media yesterday. It was the second time in five matches that the LOC had recorded a profit.
The February 9 match between T&T and the USA at the Queen’s Park Oval also returned a profit, declared as $322,211.
T&T has played ten matches in the Concacaf final round on a home and away basis.
The Costa Rica match on March 30 saw a loss of $758,663, while the matches against Panama in June and Guatemala in September, also left the LOC in the red in excess of $700,000.
For the Mexico match, ticket sales was given as $1,971,087 and broadcast rights $80,000 for an income of $2,051,087.
Total expenses included transportation ($589,724), rental of the stadium ($197,109), players’ match fees ($445,752), Concacaf dues ($137,976) and accreditation and uniforms ($129,653).
The LOC profit for the USA match was much better because of three key factors:
Rental of the Oval was $50,000, compared to $197,109 for the stadium.
Players’ match fees were $150,249, because more local players were used compared to the Mexico match
Transport was $277,375.
Today a crucial meeting between the Ministry of Sport and the Football Federation will centre around the money needed to take T&T to Germany, if the team gets past Bahrain in the play-off on November 12 (home) and November 16 (Bahrain).
The meeting, originally scheduled for 1 pm on Monday had to be re-scheduled because of the absence from FIFA vice president and T&TFF advisor Jack Warner, who returns from New York, today.
Although Oliver Camps, T&TFF president, said that no budget was available when he was questioned during last Friday’s news conference with the Minister of Sport Roger Boynes, G-Sports understands that it will cost an estimated $7.6 million for the German challenge once T&T gets past Bahrain.
Minister Boynes revealed that assistance to the TTFF includes:
$324,000 to the women’s football programme and tours.
$250,000 for the Under-17 team.
$18 million for the T&TFF development plan
$144,000 towards the senior team.
Boynes made the statement in dismissing claims by Warner that the Government was not helping the sport. He also said that the rental fees paid by the T&TFF for use of the Hasely Crawford Stadium, believed to be an estimated $251,577 to date, would be refunded to the federation.
Cabinet approves $6.9m for football programmes.
By: Naz Yacoob (Guardian).[/size]
In keeping with its commitment to the development of sports for all, the Ministry of Sports will provide financial assistance to the tune of $6.9 million over a period of three years, in support of football.
This was stated in the Administrative Report of the Ministry of Sports, in the move to assist in various sporting disciplines, which was started in 2004.
The report stated that Cabinet agreed to the establishment of the Football Development Programme, inclusive of the provision of financial assistance to the community football leagues.
The programme involves the participation of at least 115,000 stakeholders—from coaching schools to the professional league and national teams.
The Administrative Report added that the Semi-Professional League and the Trinidad and Tobago Football Federation and its affiliates are also beneficiaries of this programme.
It added that this injection of financial support will contribute to the holistic development of football in T&T and can not only take the country to the world stage but strengthen promotional efforts in respect of sport tourism.
Among the Ministry’s strategic objectives are: provision of facilities for the full participation of the nation in physical recreation, sport and youth development; promotion of specialised programmes targeted at high-risk youth groups; facilitation of the institutional development and capacity building of National Sport and Youth Organisations; implementation of a multi-sectoral approach to youth development.
In September 2004, Cabinet approval was granted for the establishment of a Limited Liability Company, wholly owned by the Government of T&T, pending the establishment of the Sports Commission. The company would be responsible for setting up of the Sports Commission of T&T, delivering specific sport programmes and managing and maintaining sports facilities formerly owned by Caroni (1975) Limited).
The Report continued that the ministry continued to conduct a range of programmes that encouraged mass participation in sport, high performance sports and empowered young people through training in technical vocational and social skills.
Meanwhile, officials of the Ministry of Sports and the Football Federation will meet tomorrow at 2 pm. Talks will be centred around the money needed to take T&T to Germany, if the national team gets past Bahrain in its playoff on November 12 (home) and 16 (away).