U-23s opener with St Vincent set for Saturday.
T&T Guardian Reports.
For the third time in less than 24 hours, the scheduled day for the T&T Olympic (Under-23) men’s football team kick off to their 2016 Olympic qualifying campaign has been re-scheduled.
Originally, the Zoran Vranes-coached Soca Warriors were carded to meet Suriname at the Estadio Juan Ramon Loubriel, San Juan, Puerto Rico, at 5.30 pm in their opening Group Four series. But after arriving in Puerto Rico with only 11 players on the weekend, the T&T squad faced the reality of going into the encounter short-handed as the remaining members of the squad awaited their US Visas from the US Embassy here in T&T.
However, the T&T Football Association was then notified on Monday night, by the Caribbean Football Union, that Suriname was also faced with US Visas issues and had decided to pull out of the competition which also involved the host Puerto Rico and St Vincent and The Grenadines.
But on Tuesday, less than a day after the CFU advised about Suriname’s withdrawn, T&T was re-scheduled to play its first match on Friday against St Vincent. However, Suriname has since said it was rejoining the tournament and T&T will open its campaign against them today. Team manager David Muhammad was informed by the CFU that Suriname will face off with T&T at 10.30 pm on Wednesday which meant T&T was again looking at the prospect of going into the match with eleven players as the remaining nine players are expected to arrive there until noon today (Thursday) while St Vincent & The Grenadines was scheduled to take on Puerto Rico in yesterday evening’s other match.
But speaking from Puerto Rico yesterday, Muhammad sounded much more positive about the whole situation and was quick to point out that of all three teams that had to travel overseas, T&T was the only team, or part their off, present and ready to play.
He added, “Interestingly when we arrived or just before we arrived we were given the impression that we (T&T) was the only team that had these kind of travel issues and challenges, but it just so turns out that T&T is the only travelling team here that has a team of players ready and prepared and available to play for the original scheduled beginning of the tournament. “But our competition will not be here (Suriname) nor will the other team in the group St Vincent and The Grenadines, which is travelling as well, so we are just awaiting official word that the group will kick off tomorrow (Thursday) instead.”
Official word has now been given from CFU. Suriname are officially out of the tournament and T&T will now play it’s first match against St Vincent and The Grenadines on Saturday from 8 pm. The Soca Warriors will then face Puerto Rico on Monday from 8 pm.
Yesterday, Alvin Jones, Jomal Williams, Kadeem Corbin all of whom have senior team experience left among a group of nine players and one official in Nigel Neverson to join up with the team but will not arrive until noon tomorrow.
The quartet along with Aaron Enil, Josiah Trimingham, Jesus Perez, Aikim Andrews, Shackiel Henry and Akeem Roach, who was drafted into the team for striker Nathaniel Garcia, who had to return home due to problems with his travel documents left on a flight yesterday bound for Puerto Rico after they were granted their US visas on Tuesday by the US Embassy.
Already in Puerto Rico, since on the weekend are Montell Joseph, Leland Archer, Martieon Watson, Neveal Hackshaw, Jelani Felix, Duane Muckette, Jabari Mitchell, Xavier Rajpaul, Rundell Winchester, Ricardo John and Adrian Welch along with coach Vranes, Muhammad (manager), Gilbert Bateau (assistant coach/trainer), Michael Taylor (physiotherapist) and Esmond O’ Brien (equipment manager). Group One to be contested at Stade Sylvio Cator, Haiti, involves the host country, Cayman Islands, St Kitts/Nevis and Barbados; Group Two which kicked off at the Antigua Recreation Ground, St John’s Antigua, features Cuba, Guyana, Aruba and the host while Group Three which is being staged at the Estadio Felix Sanchez, Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic sees the host up against St Lucia and Jamaica in the lone three-team group.
Among the other players named in the original squad by Vranes last week, who had to withdraw due to injury or visa issues were Javon Sample, Shannon Gomez, Dwight Quintero and Neil Benjamin Jr Reached for comment, Peter Rampersad and administrative official and assistant manager to the men’s senior team said the remaining nine players and technical staff member Nigel Neverson will leave later today (yesterday).
Rampersad added, “In fact he (Neverson) is expected at the T&T Football Association’s office within the hour to collect some documents and he will meet up with the nine players who are still in T&T at the airport for their 5.30 pm flight aboard Copa Airlines.
“The flight should get into Panama City around 8 pm and the group will overnight there before heading to Puerto Rico early tomorrow (today) and they should get there by noon for the latest,” ended Rampersad. The T&TFF official also praised the efforts of the officials at the US Embassy whom he said were very accommodating and helpful in the players getting their travelling Visas for Puerto Rico.
