Walter Gagg, head of FIFA Technical Department says he’s noticed continuous development in the football arena in this country since the staging of the 2001 FIFA World Under 17 Championship and that qualifying for next year’s World Cup in Germany would fittingly be the icing on the cake.
Gagg made the comment as he paid a courtesy visit to FIFA Vice President Jack Warner at his CONCACAF Office at Edward Street, Port of Spain on Friday. Gagg, who played an integral role in the staging of the 2001 Championship here, was in Trinidad for three days along with Jim Brown, head of the FIFA Competitions Department, for the staging of a seminar for Match Commissioners from throughout CONCACAF held at the Dr Joao Havelange Centre of Excellence.
Gagg, also responsible for passing inspection of the four stadia and the Hasely Crawford Stadium for the 2001 tournament, said he was impressed with the facilities at the Centre of Excellence and the TTFF’s technical and marketing department offices on St Vincent St, Port of Spain as well as the TTFF headquarters on Dundonald Street which he also visited.
While qualification for the 2006 World Cup is currently holding the main interest locally, Gagg said it was important that other aspects of the game not be neglected and he was pleased to see that there continued to be successful staging of workshops and other related activities at the Centre of Excellence and at the office of recently appointed CONCACAF Technical Director Keith Look Loy.
“I’ve been here maybe over 20 times dating back to 1984 and then more recently for the staging of the FIFA Under 17 Championship which continues to be one of the most successful events ever staged at that level,” Gagg told TTFF Media.
“From the beginning I’ve gotten to know the person that is Jack Warner and realize how a credible man he is. Coming back here is like coming back home and I have noticed that since our first visit many years ago and then in 2001 there has been tremendous development here in Trinidad and Tobago from the CONCACAF administration down to the Football Association (TTFF). And there has not only been development in football but the country on a whole seems to have risen in different commercial and economic aspects and I’m sure football has helped in this regard too,” Gagg added.
“Hopefully now the perfect present will be Trinidad and Tobago getting to the World Cup and the rest of the world can see what this country has to offer. I wish Leo Beenhakker and the FA all the best in their upcoming challenges.”
Some 28 countries from across CONCACAF took part in the seminar which concluded on Friday and Gagg said he expected that it would go a long way in improving the standard of the workers here.
“We believe what we gave to the commissioners and what we learnt from them will lead to more success in the future not just for World Cup qualifying matches but also in other competitions in this region,” Gagg ended.