Anil left red-faced over Trinidad and Tobago Red Steel

It turns out that it might be a good idea after all to attach the brand “Trinidad and Tobago” to a competition which attracted, according to the Limacol Caribbean Premier League (CPL), over 250,000 spectators and a global television audience of 36 million last year.

So, the Trinidad and Tobago Red Steel is officially up and running once more.

Photo: Howzat?! Trinidad and Tobago Red Steel captain Dwayne Bravo celebrates a big scalp. (Courtesy Allan V Crane/Wired868)
Photo: Howzat?! Trinidad and Tobago Red Steel captain Dwayne Bravo celebrates a big scalp.
(Courtesy Allan V Crane/Wired868)

And what of Sport Minister Anil Roberts? He is probably kicking his dog.

In a release today, the CPL said it was: “pleased that the matter regarding the naming of the Red Steel franchise has been resolved and that the team will once again proudly bear the name of Trinidad & Tobago Red Steel.”

“We would particularly like to thank Minister Gary Griffith,” the release continued, “for his timely intervention in this matter and for his support in bringing it to a positive conclusion.”

It would leave Roberts especially red-faced after, two weeks ago, Trinidad and Tobago Red Steel captain and West Indies all-rounder Dwayne Bravo described whoever removed Trinidad and Tobago’s name from the team as “a bunch of jokers.”

Roberts, the bully of local sporting bodies for the past four years, cannot even make athletes quiver these days?! Whaaaaaaat?!

Roberts had accused the CPL of breaking the law by referring to the team as the Trinidad and Tobago Red Steel.

Mr Live Wire cannot confirm whether or not Minister Two Pull was in Room 201 at the time of his lecture on law-breaking and the importance of the country’s brand.

Photo: Sport Minister Anil Roberts.
Photo: Sport Minister Anil Roberts.

Griffith and his Cabinet colleagues overruled the Sport Minister.

The Government and, in particular, the Ministry of National Security must be getting used to walking behind Roberts with a doggie scoop.

Earlier this month, Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar stepped in to offer financial relief to the 2006 “Soca Warriors” in a long-standing legal battle that never interested Roberts. And the Trinidad and Tobago Football Association (TTFA) has taken to sending requests for funding directly to National Security Minister Gary Griffith.

Roberts’ multi-million dollar Life Sport programme, which was accused of siphoning money to criminal gangs, has also been turned over to Griffith. Hopefully, the Sport Minister is putting his free time to good use.

Idle hands sometimes end up rolling joints in hotel rooms.

So, the Sport Minister is sitting on his hands while the National Security Minister looks after the nation’s sport teams and the Prime Minister handles World Cup affairs.

Ahem, one question please: Who is in charge of the soldiers?

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99 comments

  1. Dat is not ah f**kin T. @. T team ok. ah set ah dunce. I support Anil

    • He said that he supports the team with Sunil Narine. I didn’t hear about any request to drop Guyana from the Amazon Warriors. Yeah, all ah dem is dunce for real! I lucky to have my alphabet chart yes!

  2. Some might have said, a bull in a China shop. Minister 2 pull. Why not Minister 2 bull instead? “2 bull and I gone through yuh know!” Whaaaat! The bull get horn and the man with the black steel deal with the reds? No Duck worth Lewis needed. Yeah Raj maharaj, you like lackaray yes!

  3. Rajindra Maharaj that is serious talk? real bacchanal ting

    • Ah hear pricey bussin 1 to 36 on 96 yesterday on the same thing. If she doh care, then it probably has truth there. Or she prob readin posts from here too!

  4. go bravo go bravo we love you all the way

  5. I am for anything that reveals Anil Roberts for the fool that he is

  6. For those of you who don’t know let me inform you! Dwayne hit Anil a horn and got the “reds” pregnant forcing Anil to marry the little girl to save face. Since them Anil has been against any team Dwayne is on and behaving like the total jackass he is and Kamla just allowing it.

    • Ah say, Caller! Caller! Please, no bacchanal! NO BACCHANAL! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! Again showing that Anil, poor fellow, cannot separate the personal from the professional. And I hear that a certain lady has been singing an old Hollis Wright pan tune, “Is ah long time now I celebrating with (Red) Steel! Ah loooooong time now I celebrating with STEEL!!!!!!!”

  7. Akins Vidale I agree with the inability or reluctance to capitalize on the opportunity for monetization…with 36 million viewers…definitely an opportunity!

  8. So if Nash, ginobli, Duncan, Parker weren’t of American origin , they should change San Antonio,s franchise name to a small town name? If Dwight Yorke wasn’t from Manchester……if Messi wasn’t,t from Barcelona…… The long and short is that what is the point in makin all this controversy when the tournament has started. Why not let the tournament proceed without bad publicity and splitting public opinion and debate this after. If anyone has to decide whether or not to drop names, why is this a cabinet decision and it does not involve a national discussion? Is cabinet paying for the tickets? And showing up in their thousands to make the thing a success? The people should have a say and this could be done in a discrete manner to ensure that all that has to get promoted does so without a dark cloud looming over the cricket in this rainy season.

  9. Was Bravo wrong when he supposedly referred to ‘jokers.’ Were they smokers instead?The dolf zigler of life sport is hell bent on stealing the show and we’re not talking about the red steel yet. However if we do so, the team is in danger of getting its first name stolen, perhaps pulled. Two pulls. One for trinidad and one for tobago. The West Indies is a former English colony made of islands and not big cities. Trinidad and Tobago is almost 20 times smaller than Mumbai. Nowhere is the title ‘NationAl’ mentioned in the t&t franchise. There exist 201 points on why to drop the countries’ name. If so, should the Mumbai Indians call themselves the Mumbai negroes because Pollard is in the team? If the nation’s name is omitted, then why is the tdc logo on the shirt? Who are they promoting? Are they by chance promoting Trinidad and Tobago to millions of viewers as part of Min2p’s sport tourism drive? Does this mean that the impersonator of the min tour’s statements have credence because of this microscopic contradiction? If the name ‘red steel’ was trademarked as another name for the national team, then shouldn’t this be pulled too? I hope that it was done by at least some smart person back when the name stuck! The TTpro League has brazilians, Guyanese etc. playing there, should TT be dropped? I guess the next step is to drop the word caribbean from CPL because not only caribbean peoples are playing. Please Mr. Live or anyone out there, I am new to this, help me to make sense of it all.

  10. Events have overtaken us,Lasana.You need updates.

  11. This entire issue is about the TTCB losing out on the huge cash cow that the past format presented to it when individual Territories competed for a spot in the Champions League. Sour grapes, IMHO, and they are willing to prevent T&T from gaining some excellent international publicity through a franchise carrying the country’s name. This is a no-brainer, folks!

  12. Ye brand TT is certainly much stronger than any other Caribbean territory. So yea I that sense also, I don’t disagree.

  13. So naming the team Port of Spain Red Steel and waiting for a reporter to link it to Trinidad and Tobago is better than just naming it Trinidad and Tobago Red Steel one time?
    I can’t say I agree with you there one bit.
    When people look at their fixtures or cable list, it is better they see Trinidad and Tobago if you had a choice.
    It costs no more or no less. It should be a no brainer.

  14. Ye Big L, I don’t really disagree with that. Just don’t think as I said, it worth debating to such an extent that now you have two TT ministers at odds over it ha…

  15. Denisha Mayers, I sat in a press conference when the Sport Minister was asked about the Trinidad and Tobago football team that was stuck in St Kitts during a tropical storm with no money for even meals.
    His response, with a laugh, was let the TTFA find money for them.
    And people here say Anil is known for patriotism?
    Must be a different Anil.

  16. Colin, the cost for putting Trinidad and Tobago on television sets in whatever countries is massive. And you cannot compare Port of Spain with Sydney. Besides, it is the Indian and Australian cricket leagues. And the English Premier Leagues. So the countries are already being marketed.
    That is not the case with the CPL.
    To simplify, whatever benefits you see from it being named Port of Spain Red Steel can only be magnified as Trinidad and Tobago Red Steel.

  17. Good points Akins… Sounds like something you can expand on 😉

  18. Lasana Liburd I think people are missing the point with this one. We have to understand firstly that we are discussing cricket. The ICC does not recognise Trinidad and Tobago. They recognise the West Indies. So the question if us being a sovereign state doesn’t arise in cricket. If we want to have that sovereignty discussion we better be careful about its conclusion given that the West Indies is not a sovereign state. I actually feel that the regional tournament should go this way too. We are obviously upset about our players being split up but and I know many people who now back other teams because that is where their favourite player has gone. i see this working like county cricket with a limited number of international players added to each team. If we do not have a regional tournament which is international standard we will always be behind. There is an additional hidden benefit here…West Indies cricket has been plagued by the insularity of the various countries. So some people will feel there are too many Trinis or too many Antiguans , or Bajans and so on…If we make the regional tournaments more about the players then the we can detach the ‘nationality’bogey from the West Indies selection. It is also amazing that given the international exposure of this tournament we simply don;t know how to monetise exposure.

  19. Dont let me even start to talk about the disastrous LifeSport…..I am sorry but NO ONE can convince me that Anils’ first-to-tenth priority is not Anil

  20. I am actually very surprised that any sane thinking person would support Anil. This man is one of the most embarrassing things to happen to this country AND he has long forgotten his reason for becoming Sport Minister…..there are many ways to skin a cat but as is usual…..he carries on like an animal void of ettiquete, professionalism and intelligence.

  21. Fair enough Colin Benjamin. But make no mistake about it, T20 cricket is the main spectator draw among the versions of the game so we must ensure that we reap any benefits available to be had.

  22. Denisha Mayers, if the Sport Minister were serious he would address the issue at the end of this season, and not seek to remove the name mid-tournament. But in his typical bullying, antagonistic, boorish style he feels he can just talk loud and get his way.

  23. Denisha Mayers it happen because the last competition CT20 was run~ buy our regional Cricket board’s meaning~ everyting was dealt with by Trinidad and Tobago Cricket Board…and we was Successful on it.and gain International Success cause it was by Trini’s and the advance ment of Trini’s~~ now with this CPL ..show me who benefit’s frm it when it is run by a Private company~ and TNT best team has been splattered about all over the place~to other island’s that just want a piece of the Money pie ~ with out Hard work.~

  24. So why is it that only this year, after the tournament has started, it becomes an issue? Just does not add up in my book, sorry.

  25. Rodney Hazel Welll I don’t know if there is need to promote TT or any of 6 countries really. I guess im trying to say involuntary even if the city names are used, when u get to champs league level, the franchise is promoted as a preventative of the country – instead of the city.

    I take on board your point about some cricket fans (couva, sando) & the other areas outside the other 6 capitals feeling marginalised though. That’s a can of worms for sure haa..

    That’s why I said from the start, people are taking this thing too seriously. CPL role is simply to help WICB get money so we can become a better test team. If that never happens CPL would have failed as a project.

    Just enjoy CPL like carnival season & forget about until the next edition comes around…

  26. So Colin Benjamin you are admitting that there is need to promote the name T&T as much or even more than the name Port of Spain but prefer to do it without the name T&T. I maintain, if the team is named Port of Spain anything you will struggle to get acceptance from in this same twin island republic. Let’s be frank, people from many areas outside of POS will complain of being marginalised because the team’s name does not represent them. You cannot compare POS with Sydney or any of those other cities that compete in the CL. You are missing one important fact that historically our regional tournament has been among island territories, not among cities as is the case in Australia, South Africa or England. Therefore the CPL maintains this historical tradition in making the tournament an inter-island competition.

  27. Denisha Mayers Ye I think minister Roberts ingrained reasons listened to his comments & various lawless interviews, is that he is annoyed that the CPL essentially broke up the Red Force. If CPL kept national teams together, Trinidad by having the best talented team in WI, would win T20 cricket every year & get the Champs league exposure.

    Why else would he go to cabinet twice to try & get funding to buy out Bravo, Pollard, Narine, Cooper, IPL contract – so that they could play for Trini. If Trini was to win champions league, that would have been a big deal.

  28. Denisha Mayers na Anil always Been Patriotic always when it comes to sport’s and use of Trinidad and Tobago names……since his Spalk dayz so i see no malice with Bravo in this

  29. Lance Noel i am staying the Course..my stance is False Marketing and people believing it will benefit the country~……

  30. David Aguillera,stay on course man.Any form of positive advertisement is good for the country.

  31. Colin Benjamin People so believe if u Market Port Of Spain and people ask where that is.. they go say in Bikini Bottom with Sponge bob………………….sad people saying No one will Know Where Port Of Spain is yet it in Trinidad So ironic yes…………..~~ and Second how do anyone know if anyone will not Know where Port of Spain is???? did we do a international survey??……………..people need to realise that tis competiton was used to Destroy a brand TnT already had frm hard work and dedication.!! and yes i support T20 but i support my Country Name first and Foremost~Cause as the saying Goes what aint broke why fix it unless Greedy ppl want your Hard work and want to Live of your name

  32. I am sorry but I just cant see beyond the assanine arrogance, disregard and disrespect of this coarse Anil. Additionally I dont buy that all of a sudden he is Mr. PATRIOTIC and acting solely in the best interest of Trinidad and Tobago……more likely he is still trying to find a way to get back at Bravo or wanted CPL to pay for the use of the name…

  33. smh smhLasana Liburd it doesn’t matter if it’s own by a Arabian owner.~!! where u think all that money’s goes back to……it goes to the citizen and fan’s not England but the fans of Manchester United/City~ not England~ if they want Name it Port Of Spain~Simple as that…………………and what sport tourism………the amount ah world event’s that happen in Trinidad sporting wise ah still waiting to see the tourist and fan;s coming and asking if Trinidad is some where in Jamaica~ we had the Wc2001~~ WC in Cricket in West indies and Host of event’s where is the so called Wonder marketing and tourism~?? Right now Tobago still Scrunting to get Tourist to there island………yet we talking Marketing……

  34. If Red steel is named POS Red Steel instead – and if they win CPL & go to Champs League & win, they will be hyped as representing Trinidad in the same way Sydney Sixers were hyped as winning the 2012 tournament as representing Australia – instead of the state, Sydney.

    So brand TT will still get marketed well.

  35. In my humble opinion,whilst I appreciate the minister’s point,I believe we have more to gain than to lose ,by retaining the name.I guess it might be a case of the ”right” thing,being done for the ”wrong” reason.Anil Roberts is trying to remain relevant,hence this red herring.Just my opinion.

  36. Yes, I am saying that if there is a team named Port of Spain anything, nobody will care. And the name Port of Spain is not going to be as marketable as the name T&T. The name T&T needs to be promoted alongside top tier cricket whether you like T20 or not. Do not lose sight of the fact that the CPL is viewed by over $30 million people around the world. Do you advocate keeping the T&T name away from that viewership because: (1) it is a private tournament, and (2) you don’t care for T20 cricket?

  37. Manchester United is not owned by a British citizen. Nor is Manchester City.
    It is a matter of if you see the benefits or not.
    You say no David. Anil agrees with you.
    But it costs just as much to be named Red Steel as it does to name it Trinidad and Tobago Red Steel. Which is better for our country?
    And do you really think we won’t lose anything if franchise was moved?
    You are talking sport tourism, marketing, income for host venue and vendors…

  38. I’m just asking,is BPTT a Trinidad owned company?

  39. Cant be used by people not citizen of Trinidad and Tobago~ is The CPL a Trinidad Oriented Company~???the CPL is a Private entity~~ not a National entity~~~ What benefits does TNT get?? beside what Marketing~ and False Marketing

  40. I’m asking because I heard the minister say that the name Trinidad and Tobago cannot be attached to used willy nilly,or words to that effect.

  41. Colin Benjamin you no the hypocrisy in this is ~~ they Marketing the T20, yet they wont do it with the 50overs and 4day tournment~~ if the want to go that way~ then all bajans an jamaicans an guyanese welcomed to play for us in the 4day’s and 50overs competition~~

  42. If you want to cause remember.. we marketing trinidad and tobago not what you doing ~~@Lance

  43. David,with respect,can I register a private company called’Trinidad and Tobago handbag company” with the ministry of legal affairs?

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