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The Trinidad and Tobago Football Federation (TTFA) has confirmed the Soca Warriors’ participation in the 2025 Unity Cup, an ‘Afro-Caribbean Invitational Tournament’, which will be staged at Brentford FC’s Gtech Community Stadium in West London from 27 – 31 May.
Trinidad and Tobago will kick off the invitational competition against Jamaica on 27 May while Nigeria and Ghana clash on 28 May. The winners and losers of each match meet on 31 May for a third-place play off and final.
Photo: Nicholas Bhajan/ Wired868.
The Unity Cup falls outside of the Fifa match window and, as such, clubs are not obliged to release their players. However, most European Leagues close by 25 May.
Trinidad and Tobago head coach Dwight Yorke said he is excited to be paired against such strong football nations and hopes to use the competition to further develop his team.
“The Unity Cup in London is a fantastic opportunity for us to face quality opposition as we prepare for the Gold Cup and World Cup qualifiers in June,” Yorke told the TTFA Media. “Playing against teams like Jamaica, Ghana and Nigeria—nations with strong footballing traditions—will challenge us in all the right ways.
“These matches will help us fine-tune our squad, build chemistry, and ensure we are in the best possible shape for the challenges ahead. It’s all about growth, improvement and maintaining momentum.”
(Photo: Jaime Lopez/ Jamaica Media.)
Thus far, Yorke has been afforded two friendly matches against Jamaica and one against Saudi Arabia—all away from home. He led the Warriors to successive wins in his only competitive outings to date against Cuba in Santiago and Couva.
The Unity Cup was launched in 2004 when Nigeria, Jamaica and the Republic of Ireland faced each other in a round-robin format at Charlton Athletic’s The Valley ground in London.
There will be no European participant in 2025.
AfroSport director Rotimi Pedro said it has been a “long journey” to revive the invitational competition.
“We’re delighted that fans of African and Caribbean football will once again enjoy top-tier international football at Unity Cup 2025,” said Pedro. “We are grateful to Brentford FC for providing a home at the Gtech Community Stadium and look forward to welcoming fans back to what, even after 20 years, remains a cultural moment for many who attended previous Unity Cup tournaments.
“Unity Cup 2025 is a week-long celebration of our interconnected culture in food, music and comedy anchored around elite footballing talents from our home-nations.”
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