Warner worried about succession
By Kern De Freitas (Trinidad Express)
Monday, November 28th 2005
Trinidad and Tobago Football Federation (T&TFF) special adviser Jack Warner is worried about a successor in T&T's football administration.
Warner expressed his concerns over the future of national football when he gave the feature address at the T&TEC General Sports and Cultural Club's ninth annual presentation of prizes and awards ceremony on Saturday night at the Trinidad and Tobago Chamber of Commerce building in Westmoorings.
"As we look at the Soca Warriors," the CONCACAF president told guests at the function, "my concern is, what next?
I am very concerned about succession. I am very concerned about what happens, and who comes after Jack Warner.
"...I am not getting any younger," Warner proclaimed, "and I am concerned with who comes after Jack Warner, and when? I am concerned about those persons who aspire, but don't want to achieve. I am concerned about those persons who look at the form, but not the substance."
Warner indicated he had recently spoken with former national football captain Sedley Joseph about setting up a task force to prepare this country for qualification for World Cup 2010 in South Africa, the first time the FIFA tournament would be held in Africa, an occasion he said would not happen again "in our collective lifetime".
Thus, he said, it was even more important for Trinidad and Tobago "to be part of that history".
The FIFA vice-president indicated that he and T&T head coach Leo Beenhakker had discussed the Dutchman's future with the national team on Friday, as well as a training programme for the Soca Warriors, including practice games in the UK, leading up to the 2006 World Cup in Germany.
And, Warner said, as a World Cup coach, Beenhakker's fees had gone up.
The entire programme, Warner disclosed, will cost "no less than US$15 million", the least, he said, being spent by any country competing in next year's World Cup.
According to Warner, to ensure full transparency, the T&TFF have enlisted the services of auditors KPMG and Kenny Persad and Company to handle accounts and a new company has also been set up to manage the team.
But he encouraged T&TEC officials to push for the support of their corporate counterparts to help the national cause, saying: "Lining the streets does not amount to dollars and cents".
During his speech, Warner also related that after Trinidad and Tobago's World Cup qualifying playoff triumph against Bahrain on November 16, he went into the players' dressing room and "cried like a baby", adding that he has yet to come to terms with the Soca Warriors' achievement.
"...And while we were crying, the Bahrainians were destroying their stadium. But then again, I wouldn't shed any tears for that, because they could build one tomorrow," he quipped.
That, he said, showed the power of sport, giving many other examples as to how sport can be a unifying force worldwide, a fact he feels Trinidad and Tobago constantly take for granted.
"...When we came back to Trinidad, and we arrived at Piarco, and I embraced Mr Manning, and he embraced me, I saw the power of sport. And I tell you, I went on the stage, and I did hear the speech of the Prime Minister, when he said that no politician has achieved what football has. And I asked myself: 'what am I?'
"So I would say possibly, my politics, is not, of course, within the moment, and therefore it's alone."
Warner also took the opportunity to mention his involvement in national cricket.
"For over nine months, a group of us called the Friends of Cricket held meeting at the Centre of Excellence, weekly, fortnightly, hammering away at measures to bring change to cricket after 40 years.
"And in some ways we succeeded, and (T&T Cricket Board North Zone representative) Stephen (Martel), I thank you for this, and in the fullness of time, Mr Deryck Murray (recently-elected T&TCB president) will tell you what is being done, and what I will do for cricket."
At Saturday night's function, T&TEC also announced they would be bringing together an Under-18 team employed solely to train for and play football, for 2006.
At the awards ceremony, held to recognise the achievements of T&TEC's zonal sports clubs, the Southern Area Sports Club were the big winners, collecting most of the accolades, with the Northern Area Sports Club finishing runners up
