All efforts are being made to ensure that the city of Rotenburg is as festive and accommodating as possible for Trinidad and Tobago’s Senior football team and accompanying fans during the month of June as the 2006 World Cup plays off.
Recently Rotenburg Mayor Detlef Eichinger and his administrator-in-charge Reinhard Ludemann invited managers of nearby hotels, boarding houses and inns for an exchange of ideas concerning the presence of World Cup fans from T&T and other countries.
On Friday, a two-man T&T team, manager Bruce Aanensen and press officer Shaun Fuentes made their way to Rotenburg after arriving in Dusseldorf the previous night to look further into accommodation for close family and friends of the team members for the upcoming slate of matches in the World Cup. The visit was also used to put final arrangements in place to ensure the team’s stay a properly organized and comfortable one as possible.
The team itself will be based at the Landhaus Wachtelhof Hotel and have fully booked the facility but hotel manager Heiko Kehrstephan was happy to assist in trying to arrange accommodation for the accompanying fans despite indication that a Hurricane World Music Festival scheduled to take place between June 15-18 has caused a heavy influx of visitors booking accommodation already. A couple of the well-known hotels in the area are currently making all attempts to ensure that the families and friends of the players can be close by and that an administrative office for the team can also be set up in close proximity to the nearby team base from early June.
“It’s a very exciting time for all of Rotenburg with the Trinidad and Tobago team deciding to choose here as its base for the World Cup,” Kehrstephan told TTFF Media, “When it was discovered that you would be coming here, there were loud cheers and a lot of interest is now being shown in your country.”
The huge interest being generated is obvious as a drive through the nearby streets of the hotel, one can spot a Trinidad and Tobago flag hanging of rooftops and windows of every other commercial outlet. Then at the Wachtelhof hotel and the main square there are two national flags being flown at full mast and there are plans to stage entertainment and other fun activities at that spot during the World Cup.
Rotenburg Mayor Eichinger added “We, as hosts, aim at caring for our guests in a way as perfect as possible”, Eichinger said. It should be most important to see to lodging the fans in Rotenburg, lest they take lodgings where their team is playing (i.e. Dortmund, Nuremberg, Kaiserslautern). One thought was thrown into consideration: The fans should be offered moderate transport from Rotenburg to the matches and back again.”
Meantime, a TTFF contingent of Leo Beenhakker (team head coach) Richard Groden (General Secretary and head of delegation), Aanensen (Team manager and head of administration),Cheryl Abrams (Marketing), Terrence Babwah (Medical Doctor) and Fuentes (Media Officer) is based at the Hilton in Dusseldorf, all traveling here on Thursday following the 2-0 win over Iceland in London, for a series of meetings and workshops being hosted by FIFA for all 32 qualified nations. T&T Team security officer John Sandy is scheduled here on Sunday.
Taking place on Sunday will be the rehearsal for the team workshop, a FIFA General Coordinators Meeting, a FIFA Medical meeting and Local Organizing Committee venue managers meeting as well as a welcome dinner.
Then on Monday will see the official team workshop taking place over nine hours and then on Tuesday, the meetings for FIFA and Team Media Officers, Technical Study Group meeting, Interpretations of the Laws of the Game for team coaches and managers, a ticketing workshop, LOC internal meeting for security, a Security Meeting for FIFA, LOC and Team Security Officers as well as a Marketing Meeting. The final day of meetings on Wednesday will deal with team service stands, accommodation and transportation.