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This country’s National Senior Team will begin its 2008 program and kick off its preparations for the 2010 World Cup qualifying drive with a friendly international in Port of Spain against Guadeloupe on Ash Wednesday February 6, 2008.


The TTFF finalized the game with the President of the Guadeloupe FA Guy Roch who was  at its Port of Spain offices on Thursday. And TTFF President Oliver Camps revealed that all players will be eligible for selection for the international friendly which will be played on the same day that the rest of the region begins the 2010 World Cup preliminary qualifying stage.

Camps emphasized that head coach Wim Rijsbergen will have a full quota of players from which to select his team for the encounter.

“I think it’s clear that we announced that these players were all eligible to play for the country again since September when it was announced that the matter would be going to arbitration. But because of the fact that we had no matches nor training camps except for the El Salvador game, I think that many were still puzzled as to whether there was blacklist in effect. I want to state that there is no blacklist and we shall be inviting the best players available to represent the country and to kick start of drive for qualification for the 2010 World Cup in South Africa in February against Guadeloupe” Camps told TTFF Media.

TTFF Special Advisor Jack Warner also announced that efforts are being made to arrange a friendly international against Poland to take place here in March 2008.

“We are beginning the 2008 program with this game and we are doing so in a tactical fashion against Guadeloupe who performed quite well in the last CONCACACAF Gold Cup. It’s a time where we have to gauge our players both home and abroad and see what level of performance they have. I felt we are fortunate to have this game and we are also in the process of planning games before our first World Cup qualifier in June . We have two FIFA dates in March and we have written to Poland  and asked Leo Beenhakker for a game and we are also working on  a game with Jamaica. We shall repeat the same feat in South Africa as we did in Germany and show the world that our qualifying was not a fluke. To me these are exciting times and I repeat one more time that this country shall qualify for South Africa 2010,” Warner stated on Thursday.

Warner further commented on the issue of availability of this country’s World Cup team members for future participation in international games

“I always get the impression that we tend to dwell on negatives in this country. We have said before that the matter of players who have been blacklisted and out of selection  is behind us and is a thing of the past, The matter is now in arbitration and whatever is decided, that shall be the final decision. It’s unfortunate as the matter should not have gone as far because the monies we have all spent on legal fees makes it’s a lost for all sides but at the end of the day is  I should imagine we shall all be wiser. Therefore as far as I am concerned, there’s no cause for panic and things are on stream.

“Mr Camps has made it very clear and advised me as late as this morning that all the players who are available for the country shall be selected and we shall have the best squad possible and he has again told me that there are no players on the blacklist," Warner added.

The TTFF also wishes to announce that Sam Phillip has resigned the post of national senior team manager  and a new manager is expected to be announced on Monday following the TTFF’s retreat in Mayaro a day earlier.

Guadeloupe reached the semi-finals of the 2007 CONCACAF Gold Cup where they were edged 1-0 by Mexico.They had previously drawn with Haiti 1-1 before  securing victories over Honduras (1-0) and Canada (2-1). Some key members of their team include FC Utrecht striker Loic Loval, defender David Sommeil of French club Valenciennes and Olympique Marseille defender Ronald Zubar.

In the preliminary phase of the World Cup qualifiers,T&T has to get past the winner of the first round tie between Bermuda and Cayman Islands which will be played on February 6 and March 26.

Those winners  will clash with T&T in a second round home and away tie on June 14/15 and  June 21/22. Once through to the semi-final stage. T&T’s campaign then will  kick off on August 20. The possible opponents at that stage could be the United States, Cuba and Guatemala.