The Trinidad and Tobago Men’s National Under-17 team will not have the benefit of an international tournament in Mexico, as part of their preparations for the Qatar 2025 Fifa Under-17 World Cup qualifying series.
Coach Shawn Cooper’s troops spent much of December in camp at the Home of Football and 18 players were identified to represent Trinidad and Tobago at the Torneo de Sol invitational competition in Toluca.

Photo: TTFA Media
The national teams of Jamaica, Guatemala, and Panama are among the outfits that confirmed their participation in the Mexico youth competition. Unfortunately, Trinidad and Tobago Football Association (TTFA) president Kieron Edwards confirmed that the junior Soca Warriors will not be among them.
“Myself and the new president of Mexican football were discussing it,” Edwards told Wired868. “Because of some unforeseen issues, it won’t happen… We are trying to have something done [for the National Under-17 team] a little closer to our departure for [the Concacaf Under-17 Championship in] Costa Rica.”
Fifa’s expanded format for its 2025 world youth cup will see an unprecedented 48 nations compete in the competition—and Concacaf will have eight qualifying spots.
However, while Jamaica are grouped with El Salvador, Cayman Islands and Saint Lucia, Trinidad and Tobago must contend with host nation, Costa Rica, for the sole qualifier spot along with Guyana, the British Virgin Islands and Sint Maarten.

Photo: Daniel Prentice/ Wired868
Having missed the chance to brush shoulders with Mexico in the warm-up stage, Edwards said the junior Soca Warriors will probably play Saint Lucia instead—as our Caribbean neighbours hope to camp in Trinidad later this month.
No doubt, Cooper would hope for some stiffer opposition before he takes his team for their opening qualifier against Guyana on 7 February.
“The Mexico trip is off but we continue to plan to ensure they have the best possible preparation,” said Edwards. “Saint Lucia are in Trinidad in late January and we can play them. And we are also looking at the best possible pathway for friendlies.
“We are looking at how do we go into the qualifiers in a way that will give Trinidad and Tobago the best possible chance of qualifying.”

Trinidad and Tobago were defeated 3-2 by El Salvador in extra time in the Round of 16 phase at the 2023 competition.
(Copyright Miguel Gutierrez/ Straffon Images via TTFA Media)
TTFA technical director Anton Corneal, who successfully completed his Fifa Technical Leadership Diploma last month, is involved in discussions related to the National Under-17 Team’s preparations.
Best case scenario, at this stage, may look like two practice games in Jamaica later this month against their National Under-20 Team, as well as friendlies in Panama en route to the Concacaf competition.
“We have a chance to qualify for the [Under-17] World Cup but we need to give ourselves the best possible chance,” Corneal told Wired868. “We need to see where we are and which players are ready to compete. So hopefully we can put some type of preparation games in place—and I know it is being worked on at this point in time.”

Photo: TTFA Media
But, as always, funding could be an issue.
Today, Edwards received a TT$6.8 million cheque from the Sports Company of Trinidad and Tobago (SporTT), which is earmarked to take the Soca Warriors through their 2026 Fifa World Cup qualifying campaign.
SporTT puts strict guidelines on how the state funding can be used. However, with everyone from TT Premier Football League (TTPFL) players and referees to Men’s National Senior Team players and an array of national coaches owed monies, it is likely that the TTFA might gamble on dipping into that money now—in the hope of finding more in the near future.

Photo: SporTT
It is unlikely to be a coincidence that the TTPFL promised to pay outstanding December stipends for players, via their clubs, by 10 January.
“The TTPFL funds from SporTT is to ensure the payment [of players] next week,” acting TTPFL CEO Yale Antoine told Wired868. “This funding for the World Cup campaign is a separate tranche.”
However, Justin Latapy-George, head of the SporTT Sports Development Unit, explained that his body is still reviewing the TTPFL’s request for funding for the 2023/24 season—a collaborative process with the TTFA that started properly on 15 August 2024.

Defence Force defeated Police FC 2-1.
Photo: TTFA Media
They have not even begun to consider funding for the TTPFL’s 2024/25 season yet.
“TTFA submitted their revised budget for season two of the [TTPFL] on Thursday 15 August 2024—revised as the then Normalisation Committee of the TTFA submitted a budget on 3 April 2024 and the newly elected leadership of the FA indicated they would submit a revised budget upon assuming office,” Latapy-George explained.
“Regarding the submission of their expense reports for season two, documents were submitted [by the current TTFA administration] on 4 November with a further submission on 8 November 2024.

Sam scored a hattrick in his team’s 5-3 win.
Photo: Nicholas Bhajan/ Wired868
“These are currently under review with the expectation that this ought to be closed by 31 January 2025, subject to the TTFA submitting any further information deemed necessary upon completion of our review, which is currently underway.
“[…] As I speak to you now, Sports Company has not received any budget from the TTFA for their year three…”
Minister of Sport and Community Development Shamfa Cudjoe-Lewis confirmed too that the government is working with the TTFA to see how it can help.

Photo: TTFA Media
“Even as we accepted their budget for the 2026 World Cup campaign, they did say they wanted additional funding to do other stuff,” Cudjoe-Lewis told Wired868. “So, we are meeting to see what is reasonable and what we can commit to.”
But state money does not move quickly.
Cudjoe-Lewis explained that their requests have to be properly supported and vetted by the Sports Company and signed off by the Ministry of Sports. At that point, there is sometimes the need for Cabinet approval and a trip to the Ministry of Finance to be actioned.

Photo: TTFA Media
If funding for the Men’s National Under-17 Team’s World Cup qualifying series is part of the TTFA’s latest pitch, Edwards would have to get creative in the meantime.
As always, the dreams and aspirations of talented young athletes hinge on administrators getting their paperwork doing correctly and swiftly.
Edwards said he visited the National Under-17 Team during the Christmas period, as the young men sacrificed their school holidays to push for a place in the squad.

Photo: TTFA Media
“Over 40 guys were there from England, USA, Canada,” said Edwards. “[…] It is a very impressive Under-17 group.”
In 2023, Trinidad and Tobago defeated Costa Rica 2-0 for their first even win in the Concacaf Under-15 Championship. Two years later, the pool of players for that age group has become so competitive that several starters from that famous victory are not even included in the current 40-plus teenagers in training.
Cooper had just one overseas-based player in his 2023 Under-15 squad: his team captain and New England Revolution defender Sheridan McNish. Now, he has two dozen boys born in North America and England who are pushing for places.

Photo: Daniel Prentice/ Wired868
Wired868 expects at least nine overseas-based boys to make the final squad, while another three or four players may come to screen this month from England Premier League academies—on the recommendation of Soca Warriors head coach and ex-Manchester United standout Dwight Yorke.
St Benedict’s College defenders Adam ‘Toka’ Pierre and Isaiah David, who skipped training in December to represent their school in an invitation tournament in Guyana, are expected to join the team this month and make belated pushes for selection.
Cooper mentioned goalkeepers Julian Chapman and 14-year-old Levi Williams, defenders McNish, Quintin John and Chaz Williams, midfielder Dominic Joseph, flanker Timothy Valentine and forward Josiah Kallicharan among the players who caught his eye during the December camp.

Photo: TTFA Media
The local-based players who held their own in the camp include Jimally Renne, Jaydon Caprietta, Nikosi Foncette, Phillip Nelson, and Criston Gomez, while the likes of Seth Hadeed, Jasai Theophilus, Caden Trestrail and Necose Moore also made strong cases.
Cooper told TTFA Media that he has a difficult job ahead to select his final squad and compared the available talent to his group in 2013, which included the likes of Levi Garcia, Andre Fortune, Shannon Gomez, Brent Sam, Andre Fortune, Aikim Andrews, Leland Archer and Akeem Garcia.
Trinidad and Tobago eliminated Costa Rica in the 2013 competition and came within 90 minutes of a place in the United Arab Emirates 2013 Fifa Under-17 World Cup, only to lose 4-2 to hosts Panama.

Garcia was 16 at the time.
Photo: Allan V Crane/ Wired868
“This pool is a little more competitive than the previous [squad],” said Cooper. “If I am looking to match squads, I think the one in 2013 with Andre Fortune and Levi Garcia and Kishun Seecharan—this is closer to that pool but with a little more quality in defence.
“So, I am hoping we cross that final hurdle that we didn’t on that occasion… We hope they gel together in the coming weeks and we hope for big things.”
Cooper said he hopes for practice matches that prepare his team for the slick passing Central American style, while he identified tactical awareness as a key component if they are to have success.

(Copyright Miguel Gutierrez/ Straffon Images via TTFA Media)
“Our technical aspect of the game is not too bad [and] the boys from outside bring some strength to us,” said Cooper. “We need to work on the tactical aspect, and concentrate more on defensive transition when we lose the ball.
“[You face] very quick transitions at Concacaf level, so we have to concentrate a bit more and organise a bit more.”
The National Under-17s are likely to need a savvier opponent than Saint Lucia to prepare them for what lies ahead.

Lasana Liburd is the managing director and chief editor at Wired868.com and a journalist with over 20 years experience at several Trinidad and Tobago and international publications including Play the Game, World Soccer, UK Guardian and the Trinidad Express.