FOUR Tobago National Super League clubs will have an easier time making the trip to Trinidad for matches after the Tobago House of Assembly pledged their support for the clubs this season.
Stokely Vale, 1976 Phoenix, Bethel United and newcomers D'Lime Goal City will represent Tobago in the expanded blink bmobile National Super League this year.
Huey Cadette, the TFA Secretary of Education, Sports, Culture and Youth Affairs, announced: “This year we have gone further than what we would have done in the past, just provide registration,” Cadette said. “We will provide support with some equipment that will allow you to prepare successfully, and also we will provide some cash support that will allow you to take care of what ever incidental expenses is required to compete and operate in the Super League.
This year, 16 clubs from throughout the country will play in the Super League which begins on Wednesday with eight matches. The feature clash will see last year’s champions Guaya United facing off with runners up Club Sando in what promises to be an enticing clash from 3.30 p.m. at the Guaya Recreation Ground.
The Trinidad and Tobago Football Association (TTFA) is running the Super League for the first time, following the pullout of Anthony Harford and All Sport Production, the long-serving former organisers.
At the launch on Thursday, Super League commissioner Neville Ferguson disclosed that each team will play 15 matches in the first round. The second round will then see the top eight teams competing for honours in a group of eight, while the remaining eight teams will battle to avoid relegation.
“There is in fact a lot to look forward to as we expect there to be a buzz of activity and high interest in this season’s competition. We’re looking at teams from throughout the country and various communities engaging in football matches on Wednesdays and Sundays of each week,” said Ferguson. He added that a National Women’s Super League will be introduced in 2015 and clubs will be mandated to participate in at least one Youth Division football competition from next year.
Addressing the launch, TTFA General Secretary Sheldon Phillips said the FA was committed towards the development and growth of community-based football, citing that four of the clubs in this season’s league are from Tobago.
“The TTFA is committed to establishing and growing community-based football. The decision to reabsorb league operations into the TTFA was in no small part inspired by our belief that the future of the game’s development has its foundation in the communities,” Phillips added.
The 16 teams in the League are:
FC Santa Rosa, Joe Public, Guaya United, Goal City FC, La Horquetta SA, 1976 Phoenix FC, Stokely Vale FC, Bethel United, Petrotrin Palo Seco, Siparia Spurs, Club Sando, Trinidad and Tobago Defence Force, WASA FC, Coosal’s Las Lomas United, Real Maracas FC and Malabar FC.
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