Warriors Wait.
Govt to pay bonus after World Cup.
By: Kern De Freitas (Express)Trinidad and Tobago's "Soca Warriors" will have to wait a bit longer before they can get their dues for qualifying for the World Cup for the first time in this country's history.
National captain Dwight Yorke met with Prime Minister Patrick Manning at his Whitehall office yesterday, to discuss Government incentives for the team for their historic achievement, but did not disclose the specifics of the meeting, which lasted just over 20 minutes, saying he had not made any suggestions as to how his team should be rewarded.
"Let me first say that I didn't put anything forward," Yorke told members of the media following the meeting. "The Prime Minister, as I said, assured me that the players and the members of staff would be rewarded. That's as far as the conversation really went."
Although saying he could not "disclose too much" of what had been discussed, Yorke said the team and technical staff would be rewarded after they compete in the World Cup, describing the Prime Minister as a "man of his word".
When asked about his team's impending participation at the tournament, the T&T skipper warned the public they must be realistic about the Warriors' chances.
"We have to take it one step at a time here and not get ahead of ourselves. We are only a small country with a population of 1.3 million people here. We will be underdogs to all the teams that we're about to come up against in the World Cup."
Yorke added, though, that that didn't mean T&T should be counted out at the earliest stage.
"...that's no disrespect to our country, but football is 11 versus 11," the Sydney FC player said.
Despite being short on match practice, Yorke, who has trained recently with his former club Manchester United in England, was also happy with his form going into Wednesday's match against Peru at the Hasely Crawford Stadium.
"I feel I'm in good nick, life has been great for me at this point in time, I'm feeling really relaxed, I'm really excited, obviously, going to the World Cup."
Looking forward to the Peru encounter, a cautious Yorke indicated his team would not be taking the match lightly.
"We expect to entertain along the way, and maybe to win the game as well, and even though people might think this is a friendly, we will be taking this game extremely seriously to put us in good stead towards the World Cup," he stated.
The Tobago-born striker/midfielder also took time to pay tribute to former national coach Bertille St Clair, who was in charge of the T&T squad in the early stages of CONCACAF World Cup qualifying.
"I haven't had the opportunity to thank Bertille St Clair," Yorke stressed. "He might not have had a lot of credit (for the team's maiden World Cup qualification) but he is the guy, he was the one that influenced me to come back and give it one last go and represent my country.
"It's (in) many ways a bit sad but happy at the same time. He's not (a) part of it (the World Cup team), but he was the one who started the ball rolling and he deserves some credit," Yorke concluded.
Trinidad and Tobago head coach Leo Beenhakker (left) embraces veteran national midfielder Russell Latapy during yesterday's press conference at Crowne Plaza Hotel, Port of Spain, to commemorate Latapy's final match at home for T&T, against Peru on Wednesday at the Hasely Crawford Stadium.
Warriors still awaiting Govt's promised award.
By: Gizelle Morris (Guardian).It has been seven months since T&T's historic victory over Bahrain but the national footballers will have to wait another two months before they collect the reward promised by Prime Minister Patrick Manning for securing a spot at the 2006 World Cup.
After private talks with Manning at Whitehall yesterday afternoon, captain Dwight Yorke said the Prime Minister assurred that the team, along with members of the technical staff, will be well rewarded for their historic achievement.
The team will have to wait until its return from the World Cup in Germany before it can collect on Manning's promise.
To date, the Soca Warriors has only received the victory bonus from
by the T&T Football Federation (TTFF).
Speaking during a press briefing shortly after his chat with Manning yesterday, Yorke described the meeting as interesting.
He said Manning wished the team well and "assured me he will be honouring the players and members of staff with something to reward their achievement for qualifying for the World Cup."
Yorke quickly added that he was not allowed to disclose much of the high-powered conversation.
Asked when the team should expect to collect on the Prime Minister's promise, Yorke said he was assured that it would be after its return home from Germany.
It was on November 16, 2005 when T&T beat Bahrain that Manning told reporters that Cabinet would consider an apt reward for the Soca Warriors. One day later, at a welcome home rally held for the Warriors on the Brian Lara Promenade, Manning again said his Cabinet would soon decide on the team's reward.
He later announced that he would meet with Yorke, to decide on a fitting reward. Yorke, however, said yesterday he did not put any demands to the Prime Minister during their meeting.
But even as the Soca Warriors wait to collect their plum bonuses, less than a month after the Bahrain national senior team lost out to T&T 1-0, their 50 players received cash awards of BD$20,000 each. The construction of villas, one for each player, was also set to begin as part of the award.
Despite the inaction of the Government, Yorke said: "The Prime Minister has guaranteed that the country will be behind us."
Meanwhile, as the Government awaits the return of the Soca Warriors from Germany to celebrate, questions surround the nature of that guarantee of support to the team and if it includes any cultural support.
Sports Minister Roger Boynes had previously assured that T&T would be sending a cultural team to Germany, as did Culture Minister Joan Yuille Williams. Reports to date, however, are that nothing has been confirmed regarding any cultural contingent to Germany, one month before T&T plays its first game in the World Cup.
On March 15, the Local Organising Committee (LOC) advised the TTFF to withdraw from plans to send a cultural team to Germany, citing a lack of commitment from the Government.
The planning was completed well before Carnival but financial support from the Government was not forthcoming, a LOC official said yesterday.
Although the ministries of Tourism, Culture and Sport and Youth Affairs are said to be separately organising cultural teams to send to Germany, the LOC official said they are too late.
Options for accommodation, coaches and trucking services would have dried up, he said.
He also said T&T lost two great opportunities to showcase its culture to the world. T&T was offered an opportunity to celebrate T&T Day on May 20, in the West German city of Kaiserslautern by its mayor.
"We would have had a whole day of Carnival-type parades and that has been lost," the LOC official said, adding that T&T also lost an opportunity to participate at the Berlin Carnival, a showcase of cultures scheduled for June 9.
Soca singer Destra Garcia, brass band Atlantic and ragga soca artiste Maximus Dan, are expected to be in Germany as part of Angostura's Soca Caravan.
"If we are going to have a show or series of shows with the panache audiences in the developed world have come to expect, we have passed the critical point in planning and organising," the LOC official said.
"Perhaps we will end up with the best we can do in the circumstances... it is a major pity because the team has done so much to deliver opportunities for us all," he lamented.
