T&T to host 4-nation tournament for Women U-17s
By Shaun Fuentes (TTFF)Trinidad and Tobago will host a 4-nation tournament as a build up for the 2010 FIFA Under 17 Women's World Cup from February 28 involving the national Under 17 Teams of Canada, Jamaica, Mexico and T&T at the Manny Ramjohn Stadium, Marabella.
This was revealed at the launch for the tournament at the Hyatt Regency Hotel, Port of Spain on Monday afternoon. Disclosing the details was Concacaf President Jack Warner.
Warner spoke on the importance of the tournament in relation to T&T's hosting of the FIFA event in September while T&T head coach Even Pellerud, a former head coach for Canada, said it was vitally important for his team to get home field practice in an attempt to develop a winning mentality.
With just six months to go before Trinidad and Tobago host the 2010 FIFA Under-17 Women’s World Cup, Norwegian technical director Even Pellerud will determine the readiness of the T&T Soca Princesses when they host a four-nation tournament from February 28-March 5 at Manny Ramjohn Stadium, Marabella.
The mini tournament will see six matches being played among the national Under-17 women’s teams of Canada, Mexico, Jamaica and hosts Trinidad and Tobago.
The announcement was made yesterday at the Hyatt Regency Hotel in Port of Spain, where FIFA vice-president and Trinidad and Tobago Football Federation (TTFF) special adviser Jack Warner described its staging as ’a dream come true’.
Warner revealed that initially efforts were made to get Norway, Sweden and the United States to play the tournament as well, but all were unavailable. And he specially thanked sponsors First Citizens Bank, Kentucky Fried Chicken and Coca Cola, stating that without them the tournament would not be possible, the Express reported.
’All three of them are helping to cushion the blow because this event is costing $1 million,’ he added.
Warner announced several incentives to ensure crowd support for the Soca Princesses. First, ticket prices have been kept low at $20 for adults and $10 for those under 17. He also said that transport will be provided free to students of the schools from which the women footballers are drawn, and also schools in the vicinity of Manny Ramjohn Stadium.
He said the Soca Princesses needed to play before a packed stadium.
’Based on these prices you will see this is not a money-making venture,’ Warner said. ’This tournament is about fans. We understand the importance of bringing fans closer to football...we understand the importance of bringing football closer to the fans.’
Pellerud, national under-17 coach and TTFF technical director for women’s football, said at the end of the four-nation tournament on March 5 there will be exactly six months before the Under-17 World Cup--which will be held from September 5-25--is staged in T&T.
He said the Soca Princesses needed to play progressively better teams in order to improve. By March 5, he will have a good idea about how much they had progressed.
’It is not enough to be in a World Cup. We are there to win,’ Pellerud said. ’If September comes and people tell me we did not win any games but played well...that will not be good enough for me. We are not here to tell people we played well. We are here to win.’
At yesterday’s launch, Nataki Kerr, deputy CEO of the Local Organising Committee for the Women’s U-17 World Cup, insisted that Trinidad and Tobago needed to get fully behind their young women football stars, starting with the four-nation tournament.
’Teams that do well in the World Cup generally excel because of home advantage. They have a country that believes in them. They have stars that the country know. The stadia are filled with voices shouting their names and chanting slogans synonymous to country support. We are ready, but we need to get fanatical. The world is coming to play and we must get behind the team and make sure they know that they are in Trinidad and Tobago,’ Kerr said.
’We are transforming this country to become the home of women’s football,’ TTFF president Oliver Camps added. ’We have a lot to be proud of, we are the smallest nation ever to qualify for a FIFA Men’s World Cup in 2006. What is even more significant is the fact that yet again this small nation of just about 1.3 million citizens, in just one decade, is privileged to host not the first but its second FIFA World Cup,’ referring to the 2001 FIFA Under-17 World Cup held in T&T.
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