“[…] Safeguarding in youth sports does not simply mean preventing abuse; it encompasses a proactive commitment to avoid all unnecessary physical or emotional risks for children. “[…] By dividing travel into separate groups, often hours apart and involving exhausting overnight layovers, the TTFA created circumstances where proper adult supervision became …
Read More »Another teenaged Arima footballer, Kimani Dyer, shot dead
Seventeen-year-old former Arima North Secondary football Kimani Dyer was shot dead this morning off Demerara Road in Arima. Dyer and Keeshawn Edwards were both killed while a third colleague, Jaden Singh, was also shot. Dyer, who was from a poor family and lived in Mt Zion off Pinto Road, Arima, …
Read More »Dear Editor: What every parent, coach, and young athlete should know about OSD
“[…] Osgood-Schlatter Disease (OSD) is an overuse injury that affects the tibial tuberosity, which is the small bump just below the kneecap where the patellar tendon of the quadriceps muscles attaches to the shinbone. “It’s most common in children and teens between 10 and 15 years old, during periods of …
Read More »The Keston Julien comeback story; ex-T&T star resumes action after two-year break
“I have a story to tell,” said 26-year-old Trinidad and Tobago left-back Keston Julien. On Saturday 1 April 2023, Julien sprinted forward to get on the end of a counterattack for his employers, FC Sheriff Tiraspol, in an away fixture against Zimbru Chişinău when his knee gave way. “It felt …
Read More »Theobald quits ‘Army’ job; Defence Force appoint Jorsling as interim head coach
The Defence Force Football Club announced the departure of head coach Densill Theobald, after an abrupt parting of ways today—just three weeks before their opening 2025 Concacaf Caribbean Cup fixture against Haitian outfit Juventus de Cayes at the Hasely Crawford Stadium in Port of Spain. The 43-year-old Theobald, in his …
Read More »Justice for Shem: Supporters of extradited T&T sport administrator claim legal double standards
“[…] Shem Alexander, who remains in pre-trial detention in Florida, was arrested in Jamaica and extradited in November 2024—despite being cleared locally after a 15-month police investigation and without the indictment ever being shared with Trinidadian authorities. “Former Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley’s own public mention of being listed in …
Read More »Dear Editor: How to build fitter, smarter and more resilient athletes
“[…] One of the most common causes of injury in the preseason is the sudden increase in training intensity. Coaches must resist the common temptation to cram fitness into a short window. “[…] Coaches in Trinidad and Tobago must create an environment where players feel comfortable speaking up about pain, …
Read More »Dear Editor: TTFA should come clean on relationship with radio station
“[…] We have a national senior men’s soccer team funded by Fifa, the government (my tax dollars), and private donors that pays for radio announcers’ travel and lodging to cover their games on a radio station that broadcasts those games and sells advertising. “This scenario raises important questions about media independence, conflict of interest, and …
Read More »Dear Editor: Caribbean FAs, like TTFA, can never get sustained success from Fifa grants
“[…] Dependency on global and regional football authorities, and government funds disempowers football leaders in these associations. Leaders often find themselves constrained by the conditions attached to grants or by the pressure to align with donor priorities rather than focusing on their country’s specific football needs. “[…] This dynamic can …
Read More »School reps slam SSFL All Star picks, urge overhaul of selection process
Arima North Secondary head coach Wayne Sheppard, St Augustine Secondary head coach Tacuma Jones and Fatima College manager Stephen ‘Bison’ Williams have called on the Secondary Schools Football League (SSFL) executive to overhaul its selection process for its All Star teams. Last Thursday, the SSFL executive, led by president Merere …
Read More »Dear Editor: T&T owes it to our talented youth to rebuild our football programme
“[…] As coach Dwight Yorke noted following the Unity Cup, many of our local-based players are not yet ready for international-level competition. But this isn’t their fault. It is the result of a system that no longer provides the structure or support to develop top-level players here at home. “The …
Read More »‘Zoom Zoom’, Gosine get 2024 MVP awards; SSFL releases All Star squads
Ace St Benedict’s College forward Derrel ‘Zoom Zoom’ Garcia was crowned the 2024 Secondary Schools Football League (SSFL) Player of the Year today, as the governing schools body held its annual prize giving ceremony at the Couva Point Lisas Chamber of Commerce. Remarkably, Garcia finished as the SSFL Premier Division’s …
Read More »