Hasely Crawford Stadium gets thumbs up.
By: Ian Prescott (Express).
It looks almost certain that Trinidad and Tobago will play their 2010 South Africa World Cup qualifier against Honduras at the Hasely Crawford Stadium, Port of Spain on March 28.
Yesterday, Minister of Sport and Youth Affairs Gary Hunt toured the venue along with an inspection team from football's governing body FIFA, who were in Trinidad to inspect the facility, one of five which the Trinidad and Tobago Football Federation (TTFF) hope to use when T&T host the 2010 FIFA Under-17 Women's World Cup.
Last Saturday, FIFA vice-president and TTFF special adviser Jack Warner raised an alarm about the condition of the stadium's playing field which was damaged by the staging of Machel Montano's AC7 concert on February 14 and the Soca Monarch finals on February 20.
While the FIFA inspection was taking place yesterday, a cleaning crew was removing mud from the athletic mondo track and the grass on the field was already showing signs of new growth following several days of unseasonal rain.
"As you can see, tremendous improvement has taken place. Tremendous work was done on Carnival Monday and Tuesday and the ground should be in good condition for the match," Hunt said.
"I am sure you will remember the state of the field for the England match (against Trinidad and Tobago last June)...that is the goal we are hoping for."
Also present was TTFF president Oliver Camps, who acknowledged there was improvement since their visit on Saturday when the protective covering on the field was removed after the Soca Monarch show and Warner expressed concern over the northern section of the ground.
But Camps wondered whether the field will be available three weeks before T&T's next qualifier, so that the locally-based players on the national team could practice on it.
Tatjana Haenni, FIFA Director of Competitions, led yesterday's inspection of the Hasely Crawford Stadium. While her contingent seemed generally satisfied that the field will be adequate for the 2010 Women's World Cup, they questioned Minister Hunt and stadium officials about other infrastructure.
Haenni was informed there will be a tremendous overhaul of the venue due to the staging of the inaugural Caribbean Games later this year and such improvements will be in place for the FIFA tournament. Among things promised is a new electronic scoreboard to facilitate both football and athletics.
