St. Clair to oversee talent identification sessions in Tobago
By Shaun Fuentes (TTFF)
Former national head coach Bertille St Clair will assist the Trinidad and Tobago Football Federation in its talent identification program for National Under 20 and Under 16 men’s players by overseeing the process in the sister isle of Tobago over the next few weeks.
Some of this country’s more recognized past national players and present day coaches have already began assessing players in Trinidad at sessions taking place at the Ato Boldon Stadium and St Clair, who guided this country to the 1991 FIFA Under 20 World Cup in Portugal, will take now take charge of the sessions in Tobago.
According to Raymond Alleyne, President of the Tobago Association, St Clair will assemble a group of coaches to assist in the sessions which take place in at the Dwight Yorke Stadium, Bacolet and the Cyd Gray Complex, Roxborough at dates to be announced within a week’s time.
“Mr St Clair will be in charge of the process and he will assemble the various coaches to assist. We are splitting it into the Windward section of the island with players from there assembling at the Dwight Yorke Stadium and then the screening of the players from Leewards end of the island will take place at the Cyd Gray Complex,” Alleyne told TTFF Media on Wednesday.
TTFF Technical Director Anton Corneal stated earlier this year that St Clair would be invited to assist in the TTFF’s Development program. He believes that St Clair is the right man to unearth some of the talent on hand in the sister isle which has produced the likes of Dwight Yorke, Colvin Hutchinson, Cyd Gray and recent Olympic team players Trevin Caesar, Jeromie Williams,Kevan George and Daneil Cyrus.
For the Under 20 qualifiers, T&T will enter the Caribbean leg of qualification from July 23-31 in a group hosted by St Vincent/Grenadines along with Suriname and Guyana. The winner of the four preliminary groups and the best second placed team will advance to the final CFU round in Jamaica from November 3-11, 2012. The CONCACAF final round takes place in Puebla, Mexico from February 18-March 2, 2013.
The Caribbean will have five berths in the final 12-nation round from which four will qualify for the FIFA Under 20 World Cup in Turkey. Mexico, Canada and USA are automatic qualifiers to the CONCACAF final round.
Caribbean qualifying for the Under 17s will be played from July 3-10th with Trinidad hosting one of the groups which will see them come up against Suriname, British Virgin Islands and Guyana. The group winner of the five groups and the best second placed team will advance to the final CFU round in August.
