Paul and teammates to see Man U/Arsenal on Saturday
ttffonline.comThe National U-20 team received an unexpected but welcomed gift form none other than , one of England’s greatest Clubs Manchester United today.
The technical staff and skipper Leston Paul and other team members of the National team received an invitation from the club to attend their Premier League game against Arsenal on Saturday against at Old Trafford.
The invitation followed a meeting between FIFA VP and technical advisor of TTFF Jack Warner and the English FA almost one month ago.
“ I broached the topic with the English FA almost one month ago when we were organizing this tour .The TTFF continues to invest in its youth teams. The boys are on a tour at this time, they will be playing two games in England and then to move to Cypress . But technical know how and training can only do so much . It would be preposterous of me to assume that is all it takes to win games. I wanted to boys to see what a sell out international stadium feels like. These boys will be facing Egypt on September 24th to a sell out crowd of 80,000, they must see for themselves what these crowds look like. ”
Warner went on to add “ Far too often , teams ignore the psychological development of players , but international crowds can be quite intimidating . These boys must be prepared for battle and the TTFF will ensure they have the correct armour “
Old Trafford Stadium has a spectator capacity of 76000 and club officials say Saturday’s match has already been sold out.
FIFA VP and TTFF Special Advisor Jack Warner received the invitation on behalf of the team during a lunch meeting with Manchester’s Manger Sir Alex Ferguson and Chief Executive Officer of Manchester United David Gill at the VIP box of Old Trafford.
Mr Warner, who is in England, also took time away from his busy schedule to visit Manchester’s Football Academy on Tuesday morning
“ The facility is quite impressive , This academy is probably one of the major components of Manchester’s success story. Players are identified at the age of five in some instances and trained from that point on. All stakeholders in this community saw the importance and the need for this facility.”
The CONCACAF President Jack Warner also made a quick visit to the home of the world’s first football club on his arrival in Sheffield.
Mr Warner took in a tour of Sheffield FC’s Bright Finance stadium, where he was joined by former FA chairman Geoff Thompson and Sheffield FC chairman Richard Tims.
On arrival to the ground in Dronfield, Mr Warner was presented with an honorary life membership, an old Sheffield FC team photo and a framed copy of the first printed football rules.
He was also given the first off the production line of Sheffield FC’s new Welcome to Yorkshire away shirt.
Mr Warner is in Sheffield to watch the Trinidad and Tobago Under20s take on a Sheffield United XI in a special exhibition match at Bramall Lane tomorrow (August 26).
Sheffield FC chairman Richard Tims said: “We are delighted to welcome Mr Warner to the Bright Finance stadium and present him with these unique pieces of football memorabilia.
“As the world’s first football club Sheffield FC has developed close links with FIFA over the last few years. This visit further strengthens our connections with the world’s governing body and gives us a chance to discuss with another key official on the work we are doing at the club.”
