With all the confusion going on in CONCACAF over the region’s chief cook and bottle washer, Mr Warner, and his suspension pending an investigation into bribery at a recent meeting with CFU delegates and Bin Hamman in Trinidad, the CONCACAF Gold Cup is presently being played in the United States without the T & T football team.
Neither the confusion nor the suspension of Mr Warner has had anything to do with T & T’s non-participation. The fact is they did not qualify to play in the region’s most prestigious tournament, whereas all the other top CONCACAF teams are now engaged.
It is a sad day when T & T cannot qualify for a tournament in this region, but I guess it is a reflection of what has been happening with our football both on and off the field.
I remember only too well the country’s first participation in the Gold Cup in Honduras in 1967, being one of the players on that team, a team that also won a bronze medal in the Pan American Games in Winnipeg, Canada that same year.
Gate receipts
While times have changed and everything including travel is much more expensive than in those days, the T & T football administration of the time – headed by president Ken Galt with Eric James as secretary – was able to send teams to all parts of the region, from Barbados, Guyana and Jamaica to Suriname, Honduras, Costa Rica, El Salvador and as mentioned earlier, Winnipeg, Canada.
This was from gate receipts and without assistance from the Government. Gate receipts at the time ranged from 24 cents to $2 to see North vs South games. In addition a T & T team toured England in 1953 under the captaincy of the late Joey Gonsalves, and included players like Carlton “Squashie” Hinds, the late Patty Lewis, Conrad Braithwaite, my eldest brother Allan Joseph, and many other top players of the day.
Nowadays, the T&TFF cannot get a team against whom to play a friendly, with all sorts of fancy excuses coming from the new technical director, Keith Look Loy who took over from Lincoln Phillips, apparently even before Lincoln’s contract had expired.
The players, including some of the foreign-based players, have been practising, while the new coach is travelling, looking for players and presumably looking at possible opponents when the World Cup qualifiers begin.
The other teams are playing competitive games in the present Gold Cup, so that when the qualifiers start, they would be match-ready and I am positive in much better shape than our team.
Mexico, who had five of their players suspended after positive drug tests, are rolling over teams in their group, defeating Cuba easily and surprisingly beating Costa Rica 4-1, who also advanced as the second team in the group.
The USA were surprisingly beaten 2-1 by Panama. Mexico continue to be one of the top teams in the area and with USA, who were surprisingly beaten 2-1 by Panama. Canada, and Jamaica, could be the teams that T & T would have to contend with for possible qualification for the 2014 World Cup finals in Brazil. Panama is proving to be the surprise package in the competition, getting past Guadeloupe 3-2 in their first game and then surprising the USA by a 2-1 margin.
Although the USA lost to Panama, they could still qualify for the quarter-finals in their final group match versus Guadeloupe. Panama’s last game is against Canada, but they seem to be assured of a quarter-final place, having already won two games.
The Gold Cup champions qualify for the 2013 FIFA Confederations Cup, and this again is ideal match practice in preparation for World Cup qualifiers.
While all these games are going on, the T&TFF is grappling with the possibility of their main financier’s inability to be involved in football matters, although I doubt that, having the experience of 1989 when the ‘special adviser’ stepped aside after the overselling of tickets for the USA match versus T&T , but was still calling shots from outside.
This is a very interesting time in our football and even if Mr Warner is suspended, it’s not the end of the world. Eric James seemed indispensable, but after him football in the country continued, so I expect football will continue and possibly thrive without the influence of one person. Only time will tell.