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The following post was created by Sherron Charles in Wired868’s Volley Facebook group and created a vibrant discussion:
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The TT Pro League struggles commercially. Could someone please inform me why they see the need to invite more teams to ‘join the struggle?’ Is it because registration fees are their main source of income?
One would think that, in order to grow the league, they would put a cap on the number of participating teams and come up with a commercially viable structure.
And, when this is accomplished, THEN invite other teams, by way of promotion or invitation—a different argument for a different day—to join the league.
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Editor’s Note: Read the comments sections below and join in. Please note that the most recent comments are published at the top.
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Mr Pierre, everything u just said is true, but that was my point to begin with.
In your last comment u made mention of Pro league, SSFL, Youth Pro League, all these competitions can only function with players that are already DEVELOPED.
The Youth Pro league U13 facilitates for kids from as early as 11yrs, in the few instances maybe a big 10yr old, this is the highest level of football in the country in that age group, the pro league clubs SCREEN, and then choose the best kids they find suitable to represent their team, have u ever wondered where are they getting these talented kids from.
From a community club’s academy, where a coach would have already developed them for the past 5 to 7 yrs, so when they turn 11 or 12 they already have a base of technical skill, football awareness and their physical gate is already open
SSFL gets the crowds…TTPL doesn’t….doesn’t take a rocket scientist to determine that a relationship has to be developed between the two to get butts in stadium seats. Instead we want to ‘develop football’ and ‘develop clubs’. Local spectators don’t place much emphasis on quality football…they want something to identify with. The TTPL clubs simply do not provide the sense of community that schools provide. Fill the stadia first and the by product will be improved football and clubs
I will leave u all with this one that Real Madrid have partnered with schools in trinidad to provide coaching??? Think about that
footballing demigods!!!!
Smh!!! Do ur research!!!
And keith i am not involved in
any of the above
That is y Eric williams children always have to beg bread !!! Small picture thinkers bc i did not even talk about intercol school but schools in general both primary and secondary but small competition already blowing our mind
..Dexter, you and I, who are involved in Super League, community and schools football clearly don’t understand things..
it is more about football development than football in d said school bc as we speak more than half d pro league teams have no youth teams so where is d so called development?? Unpaid coaches while SSFL coaches are paid better than many proleague senor coaches and some youth proleague teams c their players for d first time a week before their first game development sir
If that is not the case Mr Pierre, i stand corrected
Why else would we be making a case for a PROFESSIONAL football team to adopt a school, if not to develop the standard of football in the said school
Mr Gordon Pierre, if a Pro League team adopts a school, is it not to develop football in the said school
the thread is about ways to kick start d proleague!! where d standard of play is low crowd attendance zero player development low coaching development low and brand strength zero
After over 15 years more than half of the pro league clubs have to pick up teams to play youth proleague stop playing orstrich
Dexter Cyrus who spoke about developing school football? read d comments again!!! We are talking about developing d proleague by pro teams adopting schools! This well help with earlier identification of talent and proper development at an earlier age!! Adopting a school will also allow d pro club to feed off d misplaced school football obession
..Thanks Dexter. Hopefully you did a better job than I din in making the point..
Seriously guys, we dont find that to be a bit 2 left footed
There is no way u can by pass the clubs and try to develop the school football and its the club thats developing the players that stand out in the said school football
It has to work in that order
Develop clubs and we automatically develop everything else
Gentlemen, we need to understand the order of how development works, the players of quality that u find in school football, have been developed by a CLUB, school football, cannot and will never be able to develop a player so that he can be world class in his teens.
We need to take our eyes off the finished product and understand DEVELOPMENT, a player of quality attending a junior secondary, he is then approached by a prestige school like St Benedicts to come to their school to play for them, did the junior Sec develop that player, NO, a club did, and that goes for ALL school players, without clubs the level of football in the schools would be considerably lower.
Community clubs are by FAR the best way to DEVELOP football in Trinidad and Tobago,
..The vast majority of clubs in this country are non-TTPL. Second, the clubs will just agree to giblve up their identity, right? Allyuh and allyuh school football obsession..LOL..
Lol. Step too far there Carlon.
How about this for a suggestion…forget the names W Connection, Central FC, Caledonia etc…rename all the pro league teams as school names…gustine vs naparima as opposed to northeast stars vs club sando…pretty sure crowds will slowly return…alumni first
What I think I am hearing is that we have to find a way to involve the schools. No problem with concept, however, we also have to keep in mind the schools league as currently constituted lasts for a three month term from September to November. The Pro League season lasts about a month longer, from March to June. Both systems have pros and cons but unless we find a way to keep national team rotations for different youth age groups training and playing practice matches together, I am not sure linking the ssfl to pro league will make a significant difference when we play international competitions. Seems like we pick youth national teams a a few months ahead of tournaments only, which puts too much pressure on coaches to build a cohesive and successful unit. Just wanted to throw that out there.
And only Eric William children can not unity for a common vision where there is no vision d ppl perish!! did an interveiw with Mr Lequay he spoke of d same thing y Maple, Malvern and d like do not have even a club house
Jamaal Shabazz i agreed but ur comment proves my point y d schools can not b disregarded u still check to c how gustine doing. And note i said the clubs must beg steal or borrow to get grounds but they must adopt the schools both secondary and primary
I agree with Keith.
Plus It comes down to how the schools have become a community not just from a geograhic stand point but from an alumni perspective as well. Even when I am away during secondary schools league I want to see how Gustine do.
If clubs can get to develop facilities within the communities then it sets a platform for economic independence. We have seen cultures changed because of influences that has been allowed and followed. When we were young our activity was sport and culture. This violent gang culture did not come from us it came from USA hip hop , east coast west coast crap. That culture was allowed to flourish here.
Therefore we can start to redevelop that community club culture, acquire the facilities and engage the corporate sector with a bill board to sell or a stand or box to name in exchange for income.
All free men have land and something to protect it. How Queens Park get them own and all those cricket teams in Central Trinidad. Like is only Eric Williams children have no proper facilities in their communities.
Some players who get the chance to go to Naparima or QRC would never have done so but for football. Back in the days, some players who failed common entrance got into high school because of football. So I was looking at in that light.
Personally, I think national players over 16 should be asked not to play school football. But we just haven’t anything better to offer them at club level yet.
So while the TTFA is fixing that, I am happy if SSFL can pour some of that SportsMax money into improving its competitions with coaching education, better facilities, equipment and so on.
..Garcia was a product of Palo Seco. Not Shiva. Rochford is a product of Rosa. Not QRC. Develop the clubs..
..We will NEVER get to that if the effort is not made to develop clubs. And you are referring to boots man. Btw, education is not a by-product of playing football for a school. Muckette just signed a contract in Portugal and he played ONE intercol. He learned his football in FC Santa Rosa. But QRC is ALWAYS mentioned as his nursery..LOL..
Through schools right now, a young player can get an improved education, boots, a qualified coach, sometimes assistance for meals and travel and possibly a scholarship.
What can most clubs offer to counter that? I agree with Gordon.
Keith is talking about best practice. But I think the reality is that we aren’t close to that yet.
Schools have more to offer than clubs at the moment. Facilities, budget, etc… It will take our clubs a while before they can take over that job to me.
Perhaps a few can do it. But I think most can’t.
Sure, the goal is to get the clubs ready for the responsibility. But in the meantime we just have to use the schools.
..Good luck with that..
we have to agree to disagree!! bc i agree with u again but the reality is school football is very important bc of the culture so instead of fighting it we should use it to develop the game!! How many players go against national coaches and return to d school game yearly?? An more than that using the schools especially primary school will expose more children if it was not for school i would have played no sports bc my father was not joining me in no club to learn any so for sports to prosper in trinidad the schools must remain the doorway!
..That contract has to do with reaching markets. Nothing else. We should be talking about clib development not incorporating schools in the development of top football. Yes this is Trini and depending on schools to develop top football will not allow us to compete..
keith again i agreed with u but this is tt thats y Nakhid solution and mine is on the same wavelength we have to find way to get them to work together!! And what struck me parents against children joining clubs allow them to represent school!!! That is very very real still in trinidad when shaka hislop say his most memorable football was in school it speaks to d importance of school football in this part of the world! SSFL
has a tv contract with sportsmax while the proleague has none and the proleague is sponsored by digicel who is d owner of sportsmax
..I disagree entirely. Schools football is played all of three months. With players always dropping out for lessons. For disciplinary reasons. Always leaving. Cmon man. How could that possibly be the foundation for PROFESSIONAL football? Cmon..
What about Nakhid’s idea to incorporate SSFL to the club system?
Excerpt: “Nakhid, a former Grasshoppers (Switzerland) and New England Revolution (MLS) playmaker, also proposed a new paradigm for the development of players in the Caribbean that seeks smooth relations between schools and professional clubs.
He believes the Caribbean must have a professional league and said the CFU might be the last region in global football to be without a properly organised competition. However, he thinks schools can and should remain the bedrock of player development.
“The Caribbean is very much school-based and community-based (and) we are very distinct in that way from Europe where things revolve around clubs,” said Nakhid. “I can tell you what a small European nation did that we can learn from.
“In the 1990s, Belgium introduced a template in which incentives were given to primary schools and secondary schools, where, if they produced players for the national level, they got funding for school grounds and so on… I know because I played there.
“Some parents oppose sending their children to clubs but they allow them to represent their schools. This template forces schools to invest in better coaching and create more curriculum time for football because it pays off in real economic terms.”
http://wired868.com/2015/08/11/nakhid-if-fifa-wants-reform-then-reject-platini-and-vote-for-me/
Agreed Keith but this is trinidad and if u want to get a following u need to use the school boys return to play returning to play school football shows d problem!! An bc sport is still play in tt to increase d pool we need to go into d school especially primary schools
..School teams? What for? All the school players belong to a club at some level. And in fact are produced by these clubs then used by the schools, which go on as if the players were born in the schools and which are given credit and fame for producing them by the silly media. You think Barcelona depends on or even thinks about some school near the Camp Nou?..
The proleague needs firstly to sign a five year tv deal with a local tv station that involves profit sharing!! They must hit d internet to capture the overseas disapora, the clubs must steal beg or borrow to get community fields, the incooperating of school teams into d proleague is also important, coaching development and marketing is also key
Some good points in there.
..The Jamaican premier league is not even all that good but Jamaican people love live football. They attend matches. Also the premier league is marketed. The TTPL is a marketing joke. During the recent Toyota Cup there was hardly any visible Toyota branding. Tv will broadcast live local football if a market is promoted and is there to be reached. TTPL only talks that. You can’t be serious if you schedule Caledonia v Northeast Stars on a Tuesday night in Couva..
Coach education, independence from present govt funding and all the great points cannot be without consideration of improving facilities within communities like Morvant, Bourg Malatresse, Sangre Grandre etc. I am not even saying govt do it. Once we get the permission we will find the money to upgrade these facilities. Only if we get mini stadia in the communities and crowd attendance is low and football of the field remains low standard…then and only then could I join the congo line. For now I say give us the broken down run down facilities we will fix it.
One of the big issues needed to be addressed in the Pro League is revenue earning fields within the communities. Good revenue earning surfaces within the communities can shape a closer interaction between Pro and Super Leagues. The two entities should discuss a pathway forward towards the survival of both .
I think the Pro League needs a solid Tobago team and can do with another proper community club. Like Guaya maybe.
But it doesn’t seem that any Tobago team has a significant following. And we need to work out why Point Fortin Civic, as a proper community club, has done so badly in every way in the Pro League.
What will get the people on this thread to go out and watch Pro League football?
That’s a starting point.
Tobago will not ever have a truly united team. Sad fact. Although there are many capable players on the island.
Very sad. We really need Tobago to have a competitive team in the top flight.
I think the Pro League considers applications every year. So it isn’t necessarily that they are making a special effort for fresh blood.
They might just be trying to do the screening sooner.
Lol! we’ve had this convo so many times here..Chabeth Haynes
Ent?! Lol. Ppl raising issues about the pro league on trini time oui. Lol.
Maybe Ma Pau will get thru this time girl…
There are many ways to get to an improved, more viable league and football product. Not knocking the TT Pro League chosen path, especially in this economic climate, but would like to hear what the Pro League officially thinks about improving standards overall (coaching, playing fields, etc), as well as, about working with Super League to establish prticipation via a promotion / demotion system. A few other issues: Is there a limit on foreign player participation? Should there be one, as with other professional leagues globally? Should there be a player salary cap, and/or a salary floor? Just some of my thoughts…
This is the result when you have so many unqualified persons making major decisions in sport in T&T. Real talk
..Steups. An understanding of the concept of “less is more” evades many people. They are probably looking for more clubs to compensate for the government funding they will probably lose. New teams jumping in mere months – even weeks – before they begin to play. Now THAT’s professional..