Women's football in T&T has gained the attention of the sport's world governing body- FIFA, Robert Hadad of the FIFA-appointed Normalisation Committee said.
Speaking to Guardian Media Sports yesterday, Hadad said he has been instructed by FIFA, to look at women's football, as there has been an increased investment towards it. "FIFA has specifically said they would really like us focusing on women's football. They have increased their investment in women's football and they have already started speaking to Jinelle James and hopefully, they will put a plan in place for women's football as soon as possible."
Only last year women's football provided the lone bright spark for the country on the field when the Under-20 women finished in the quarterfinal round of the CONCACAF Under-20 Championship in the Dominican Republic in March.
Amidst concerns about the direction of the sport following the election of the William Wallace-led executive, which replaced the David John-Williams administration on November 24, 2019, the Richard Hood-coached team provided a smile for all, with wins against St Kitts/Nevis 6-0 and the Cayman Islands 2-0 in the group stage, which earned them a place into the round of 16s, despite a heavy 0-7 defeat by Haiti in their third group match.
Later the T&T girls confirmed a place in the quarters with a 5-4 triumph over Puerto Rico from the penalty spot, after the game ended 3-3 at the end of regulation time. They were later booted out by giants Mexico in a 0-4 loss in the quarters.
Contacted yesterday, James who is the Director of Women's football described the initiative of the FIFA as tremendous, saying it is long overdue.
She said the women's game has been growing all over the world, so to get that additional support will help local football tremendously.