RBNYFL 25: TTGameplan joins Republic Cup team; age groups, formats announced

TTGameplan was unveiled as the new management company for the Republic Bank National Youth Football League (RBNYFL) at the launch of the 2025 tournament this morning.

The organisation, led by veteran sports reporter Dennis Tayé Allen, replaces Gateway Athletics International, which administered the league from 2022 to 2024.

“The focus is on the football—whatever else happens with anybody else, that is for them and their legal team to deal with,” said Allen, in reference to the arrest and extradition of Gateway managing director Shem Alexander.

“TTGameplan is a safe pair of hands and we will be mindful of the strong traditions and history of this tournament, but we will be adding our own razzle-dazzle elements that we thought, in the past, would have been underserved.”

The TTGameplan head revealed that the 2025 tournament would feature a revamped knockout phase, and a further reworking of the Girl’s division to include a new U-17 tournament to replace the U-20 version staged for the past three years.

Allen said TTGameplan also aims to livestream under-20 matches as well as knockout games in all groups and provide greater access to the media and the wider public, so as to build the hype around the RBNYFL.

Representatives of Trinidad and Tobago Football Association (TTFA) and title sponsor Republic Bank expressed their wish to see the league continue to build on its legacy as the cornerstone of the local football calendar and as a catalyst for social change.

The 2025 RBNYFL runs from 8 February to 3 May, with the registration period set for 10 to 25 January.

The competition will feature action in five zones (East, North, South, Central, and Tobago), across four divisions (Boys Under-14, Boys Under-17, Boys Under-20, and Girls Under-17).

The media launch took place at the Republic Bank Sports Club in Barataria on Thursday with Republic Bank Wealth Management general manager JP Clarke, and TTFA 3rd vice-president Jameson Rigues among the attendees.

Allen led the TTGameplan team at the launch, with Secondary Schools Football League (SSFL) head Merere Gonzalez as the coordinator of the East Zone, cycling coach Chris Gill as financial manager, and Michael Awai as football operations manager.

Republic Bank Group Brand Management manager Reena Gopaul hosted the event and announced TTGameplan as the new member of the organizing triumvirate, which includes the TTFA.

“We are so elated to have two reliable teammates in this effort—the Trinidad and Tobago Football Association and TTGameplan,” said Gopaul. “Their collaboration and support will make this tournament stronger, ensuring that it remains a showcase for talent, teamwork, and dedication.

“And just like a well-placed through-ball, this partnership creates opportunities for us to shine brighter together.”

Allen, whose TTGameplan won the bid to organize and manage the tournament in 2025, immediately dealt with the proverbial 10,000 pound elephant in the media tent at the Barataria sports venue.

“We know how I got here—I am not going to pretend that this is not known to everyone,” said Allen. “That is not my business to solve. Those facts are irrelevant.

“We are talking about a brand-new start and we are talking about a new direction for a tournament that is bigger and beyond all those things for the longest while.”

Switching to the modifications to the tournament format, Allen revealed the five zones would obtain for the boy’s tournament with the girl’s division now contested at the Under-17 level.

A Girls Under-20 tournament was staged in 2024, while in 2023 the female division featured U-13, U-15, and U-20 competitions.

In terms of the structure of competition, Allen said the traditional round-robin opening round would remain unchanged with the top two teams in each division progressing to the reformatted knockout phase.

“All of the twos (second-placed teams) would be seeded and they would play in the first round, except for Tobago,” he said. “Why? Because in the past in this tournament, the Tobago team came in at the final. It was an actual final. It meant that all four zones in Trinidad played for one spot in the final.

“Tobago will [now] be participating from round two, meaning the four twos (second-placed teams) in the Trinidad zones are going to play for a spot in round two, where they will meet everyone else.

“The way [the knockout phase] is structured is that it is 20 teams, so it’s not a straight bracket. The first round will have four teams playing for two spots to advance. Those would be the four Trinidad number two teams competing for a spot in the ‘Sweet 16’.”

He said the Sweet 16 Draw would be for the Under-17 Girls and the Under-20 Boys, which would give “an opportunity for everyone to participate”.

Allen noted that the change means Tobago teams will enter the knockout phase earlier than in previous incarnations of the tournament—when they went straight into the national final, without playing in the earlier knockout rounds.

“We decided that while that was very good for the Tobago team it may not necessarily be good for the three other zones that would have gotten knocked out from Trinidad,” he said. “The winner of the Republic Bank Youth League Cup is the best football team in the country bar none.”

Allen also said that TTGameplan aimed to bring greater national attention to the tournament and would introduce a hybrid of online registration of clubs and players.

“We are also going to bring a level of visibility that was, in our opinion, as fully realised in the past,” he said. “TTGameplan is about hype, it’s about athletes being able to represent themselves. We are going to have photos, highlight reels.

“We are going to have interaction with their fans and families to get to them with quality content, and also with fan engagement things like player of the match, [and] player of the round.”

He said the final, which will take place at a venue to be confirmed, will be televised along with round-robin and knockout U-20 Division matches.

“All of the Under-20 matches will have Match of the Week at two locations in Trinidad and one in Tobago courtesy Yellar TV, which is a foundation partner with TTGameplan,” he said, “as well as Tobago Sports Live.”

With player registration being a hot-button topic in youth football for the past few years, Allen said his team would introduce a new system of online registration.

“That player does not have to register again with brand new information [in future tournaments],” he said. “It (the registration information) travels forward—the stats and everything.”

Allen also noted that the tournament would end on 3 May to allow student-athletes enough time to focus solely on their CSEC and CAPE exams.

The TTGameplan owner praised Republic Bank for their continued sponsorship of the league, noting their role was beyond that of a marketing partnership and into the realm of community leadership.

“Investing in youth sports is an investment in families and a commitment to a community,” he said, “This tournament is the biggest investment in youth sport in the country, aside from track and field.”

Allen, a former basketball player, coach, and administration, managed the Colleges Invitational Basketball Tournament, and is a co-founder of Great Fete Weekend.

TTGameplan has also managed football, basketball, cycling, and badminton tournaments and has been in the sporting landscape for over 23 years.

The collaboration with TTGameplan and the TTFA received warm praise from JP Clarke, who said Republic Bank was pleased to embrace a developmental strategy that nurtures the evolution and success of the players.

“Since 1995, the League has equipped our footballers with the necessary tools to succeed from a wholistic perspective,” the General Manager, Wealth Management at Republic Bank said.

“Since its inception, the Republic Cup National Youth Football League has transformed into a cornerstone on the local sports calendar. Not only is it an avenue to teach our youth about discipline, teamwork, and healthy competition, but it opens up worldwide doors and opportunities in the football industry.”

He noted that Defence Force player Andre Providence was awarded a scholarship by CCBC Essex, a community college in Rossville, Maryland, for his performance at the 2024 Republic Cup All-Star Weekend.

The Republic Bank National Youth Football League is the TTFA’s official national youth football league.

Rigues, the TTFA 3rd vice-president, noted that this was the first hosting of the tournament under the Kieron Edwards-led administration and they wanted to make good on what has already been established.

“We want to go further to ensure that the competition is enhanced and it provides the perfect platform for young footballers in Trinidad and Tobago to continue to ply their trade, to excel, and to become great footballers and also to become perfect citizens for our country,” he said.

“We are very happy when corporate entities like Republic Bank come forward and say ‘We are going to continue on what we have started.’ We are making a commitment to football in Trinidad and Tobago and the young persons in Trinidad and Tobago who may be at risk of being caught up in crime, wrongdoing, and the other side of the law.”

Rigues noted that not only players could benefit from the tournament but also their clubs, and their communities.

Ball Blasters Youth Academy took the honors in the Boys Under-14 Division in 2024, with Pro Series copping the Boys Under-16 title, and Evolution FC snaring the Under-20 crown.

Pro Series FC won the Girls Under-20 National final.

The 2025 Republic Bank National Youth Football League kicks off on 8 February.

Editor’s Note: Registration for the 2025 RBNYFL competition opens on Saturday 11 January 2025 at www.ttgameplan.com.