Anil boy, you couldn't want it any better than this.
Remember the old Fatima College days as a barrelling forward who took no prisoners? Well, you now have what every goal-poacher dreams of, for like a confused defence, this collision of a cash-strapped Trinidad and Tobago Football Federation and the opening round of qualifying for Brazil 2014 has left you with an open goal and no opponent in sight.
Boss, you can't miss. Whether the ball crashing into the back of the net represents a goal for your political aspirations or an advancement of the game here though, well...that is another matter.
There is nothing better to boost a public profile than to be seen as the saviour of a national sporting cause. Coming off defeat to Prakash Ramadhar in his party's leadership elections, and with more questions being asked about the manner of his departure to China to coach George Bovell III at last month's Swimming World Championships, Sport Minister Anil Roberts must be relishing the prospect of the next three months – and maybe longer – with the ultimate political football at his feet.
True to form, he has wasted no time in positioning himself as the centrepiece of a drama that is only just unfolding, laying down the law to the TTFF in relation to funding of this latest World Cup effort and reinforcing that, come what may, his Government remains committed to the cause of getting us to Rio.
With just over three weeks to go to the opening encounter with Bermuda at home, we can expect more forthright pronouncements from the Member of Parliament for D'Abadie/O'Meara, leaving absolutely no-one in doubt as to who is pulling the strings this time around.
Cynicism aside, Anil and the People's Partnership really have no choice but to back the World Cup qualifying effort. Even if the entire build-up has been a complete shambles, even if some of the figures quoted by the TTFF in their budget appear decidedly suspicious, to refuse to support an exercise that seems destined for failure is to invite the collective wrath of a nation on the heads of individuals who are already up to their armpits in contentious matters.
Politics is about popularity, plain and simple. In kicking off his own campaign of sorts on Friday, Anil was wasting no time in stirring the cauldron of national sentiment, acknowledging that football is the number one sport in the country.
In confirming that Prime Minister Kamla Persad Bissessar has backed the World Cup effort, those who might have been worrying about the departure of Jack Warner from the footballing limelight (truly, I never thought it would have happened so swiftly) are now reassured that the elected representatives of the people are ready to do whatever is necessary for this national cause.
Thanks to the inefficiencies and incompetence of the TTFF, this is a battle that the ruling politicians of the day cannot lose. Even if the unthinkable happens and Trinidad and Tobago cannot top a preliminary group that also comprises Bermuda, Barbados and Guyana, the blame will not be on Anil, Kamla and company but on Ollie Camps and others for allowing the situation to deteriorate to this pathetic level.
On the other hand, if the first hurdle is cleared and momentum builds towards the semi-final stage and duels with the likes of Mexico, Cosa Rica and possibly El Salvador in the latter half of next year, well, Jennifer Johnson's hugging and kissing performances as Sports Minister during the final phase of the 1989 "Road to Italy" journey will be made to look muted by comparison.
So it's a win-win situation for the politicians and, for some of us, a welcome distraction from the depressing realities of life and governance in this place. However if he really cares about football beyond the obvious mileage to be gained from attachment to a World Cup qualifying campaign, Anil's focus should be on the state of play across the country.
Take the TT Pro League for example. Despite a longer off-season to facilitate a scheduling in line with the European leagues, there seems to be the usual last-minute scrambling to put things in place for a kick-off that is supposed to be less than two weeks away. A check of their official website, www.ttproleague.com, yesterday offered no information whatsoever on the upcoming season. No fixtures, no previews, no updated team or player profiles. Nothing.
Additionally, it was my understanding that a decision had been taken to take the League to the communities in the hope of really developing a loyal fan base and also generating the sort of atmosphere at smaller, more compact grounds. Yet we were advised on Friday that the latest entrant to the League, Queen's Park FC, will be playing their home games at the Oval or Hasely Crawford Stadium, while North-East Stars boss Brent Sancho continues to lament the inability of his Sangre Grande-based team to play anywhere close to Grande.
So, at this stage, it looks like another season of struggle for the League, with the few diehard fans lost in the vastness of the established stadia while those who may have been inclined to follow the action for the first time are starved of information. And the standard of play isn't great either.
Football is indeed our number one sport, but Anil Roberts needs to do much more than hitch his political wagon onto a World Cup campaign for the national game to progress.