“Don’t come to the World Cup and just show yourselves as a land of masmen or beach divers.”
Of course that’s not what the “Soca Warriors” intend to do when the arrive in Rotenburg Germany on June 4 to participate at the 2006 World Cup. But it was a simple piece of advice coming the way of the Trinidad and Tobago Football Federation contingent at the FIFA Workshop for all qualified teams at the Hilton in Dusseldorf.
For the duration of our stay here since Thursday which has included visits to the team’s base camp in Rotenburg to meetings about team management, media, hospitality, safety and security, marketing and television, ticketing, medical matters, television, security and laws of the game - there has much interest shown in T&T’s presence in Germany.
But strangely, as it would be for the average fan back home, rather than being portrayed as the land of sand, sea, Carnival and nice women, many have began raising eyebrows when being told of what else the twin island Republic has to offer.
For much of the period dating back to the official World Cup draw in December, several agencies from the likes of the UK, Sweden and Germany have been knocking on the TTFF’s doors to do “Cinderella” type documentaries on the “Soca Warriors” and despite the good feeling in the TTFF’s house about all the interest, most of them have been turned down by the Federation. And head coach Leo Beenhakker has already advised his players to be particular about which offers they take up as he wants his team to show the world a lot more than being the simple “Cinderella” team of the tournament.
TTFF Media has had to change the topic of talk with several reporters, and fellow press officers here from that of “the team of Soca boys that Leo Beenhakker performed a miracle with from a land known for Coconuts and beaches” to more serious minded conversations of the country’s offerings.
Matt Stone, who is a FIFA media correspondent and editorial producer had some good advice for T&T.
“We spoke to the Wrexham centreback Dennis Lawrence and he was also on Football Focus and he was actually really good because he gave a good idea of the country on and off the football field. This is what everyone from Trinidad and Tobago should be trying to do rather than just answer questions about how great your Carnival is. All the festivities and the sandy beaches are nice. But are also very interested in how the squad’s made up and the transition that will be made between now and the World Cup as well as what else the country can boast of from a serious perspective,” Stone told TTFF Media.
He described FIFAworldcup.com’s relationship with the “Soca Warriors” as likeable one thus far.
“I think Trinidad and Tobago has been excellent for us both on and off the field so far from our point of view of the coverage. The World Cup trophy show was maybe among the best so far. It’s always great to deal with the newcomers. Certainly we are quite keen not to portray the country and the team as one just going there to enjoy the experience. There are quite a few clichés that can come with it and you have to be careful with it,” he added. “Because you want to be respected. This is not just about being a Caribbean team in the regional championship but rather one that is competing with the best in the world.”
“We can certainly do that by portraying how serious the football team is and how much Leo Beenhakker has helped in this regards. It will be very interesting for you to try and direct the way the country is viewed on the world stage. You have got a big name for a coach, he’s a serious guy and he’s well respected so in some sense pat of the job is done there because people will have some form of respect for the team and now the rest is up to all of you to get it done,” added Stone who has worked at the Euro 2000, for London Daily Express and for websites for clubs such as Real Madrid, AC Milan, Bayern Munich among others.
Many have requested the chance to join in T&T’s international relations and Maeve Moriarty, the Australian Federation’s senior manager for sponsorship and licensing was particularly impressed when hearing of some of the initiatives being taken so far by the TT Germany 2006 Committee and the Tourism Development Company.
One South Korean counterpart at the workshop joked “So what happened to Bertille St Clair?” while another journalist attached to a UK newspaper questioned: “So maybe you guys are anxious to play Peru with a lot of music and parties before you go to Germany for the serious stuff.” I prefer to leave out the name of the newspaper with fear of being targeted.
And to many of them, including Stone, the response from TTFF Media has been: “Obviously it’s a great spectacle for us and we are extremely proud to have earned the right to be part of that. One of our aims aside from playing decent football and being respectable opponents is to leave a lasting impression. While we have all the other attractions to showcase like our culture and many talents, we also intend to earn the respect of the other nations and not just be viewed as a group of people who grew up playing football on the beaches or arrived in Germany coming off a cruise from the Caribbean but rather as a country that is prepared to do what it takes to come away with a tremendous boost from this ongoing World Cup experience.”
And Stone agreed!