Sport Minister Anil Roberts went on the counter-attack yesterday regarding the Government’s support of local football after criticism about the late funding offered to the Trinidad and Tobago national under-15 team, which was forced to withdraw from an ongoing CONCACAF tournament in the Cayman Islands. But Roberts’ indignation was arguably …
Read More »Hockey triumph is inadequate cover for Sport dopes
The Trinidad and Tobago national men’s hockey team returned home this morning with bronze medals draped around their necks. No big deal really. It was only the first Pan American medal for a men’s national hockey team in 46 years. Sport Minister Anil Roberts, Permanent Secretary Ashwin Creed and the rest …
Read More »Neymar ignites Brazil; Spain contemplates end of an era
A left footed bullet from 21-year-old Brazil football prodigy, Neymar Junior, which flew past Spanish captain Iker Casillas, made the world sit up. Cowering on the floor, stunned and bleeding, was Spain’s international reputation. Spain swaggered into Rio on the back of stylish triumphs at the Euro 2012 and 2010 …
Read More »Samba versus Tiki Taka: Brazil plots Spanish resistance
Brazil is the only South American country that the Spanish conquistadors of old did not colonise. And, as football’s new favourites prepare to cross swords with the game’s old favourites, Spain’s football team must know already the scale of the task ahead in tomorrow’s FIFA Confederations Cup final at the …
Read More »Brazil set to explode: Wired868 heads to Confederations Cup final
The late, legendary Liverpool boss Bill Shankly is best remembered for a quip in reference to the relevance of football in our daily lives. “Some people believe football is a matter of life and death,” said Shankly, “I am very disappointed with that attitude. I can assure you it is …
Read More »Why Brazilians are protesting the 2014 World Cup
Most Brazilians feel that the biggest football festival in the world, along with the foundation of their country, is being stolen from them. By Marina Amaral and Natalia Viana On Wednesday, days after massive protests took over the streets, officials in 14 cities in Brazil—including the capitals Sao Paulo, Rio …
Read More »Ban FIFA from the World Cup: Jennings salutes Brazilian protestors
To my dear friends in Sao Paulo who I met last year at the meeting of the World Cup protest committees at the Casa Fora do Eixo. And also the journalists and students at the Mediaon conference earlier in the week. Oscar Niemeyer (Brazil’s famous architect and socialist) would have …
Read More »A star is born: Brazil’s Neymar matches the hype
On 19 June 2013, Brazilian starlet and football’s clown prince, Neymar, became a star. And, if ever they needed extra reason to dream, Brazil fans now have something tangible to pin their 2014 World Cup dreams on after a Neymar-inspired 2-0 win over CONCACAF champions, Mexico, at Fortelaza. The upcoming …
Read More »Adios, Au revoir, Ciao… Time to say goodbye, Anil
It is not like Sport Minister Anil Roberts to be without an opinion that he does not want to scream into someone’s face. It’s strange then to see the Spalk Minister so timid in the face of a damning Auditor General’s report that accuses him and his miniature Permanent Secretary …
Read More »Brazil roll on and roll off Japan in Confederations Cup opener
Outside the Mane Garrincha National Stadium in Brasilia, police reportedly used tear gas, pepper spray and rubber bullets on protesters who feel the 2014 World Cup to be a burden on taxpayers who are then priced out of the showcase football event. Inside the venue, FIFA president Sepp Blatter was …
Read More »Preparation 101: How to plan for a successful international tournament
As the Trinidad and Tobago national senior women’s hockey team prepared for last month’s World League Round Two tournament in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, I enquired from my teammates about our Round One performances and whether our losses were due to being outplayed or because we failed to execute our …
Read More »Spanish inquisition ends; but is it better than watching Brazil?
On Sunday night, the Spain football team left its opponents confounded, breathless and whipped into an open mouthed awe. And those were just the armchair critics. God knows how the Italian players felt. Spain’s 4-0 triumph over Italy at the Euro 2012 finals in Kiev’s Olympic Stadium was the most …
Read More »