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The Trinidad and Tobago Football Association (TTFA) has named 16-year-old Pleasantville Secondary starlet Nikita Gosine as its 2025 Senior Female Player of the Year—for the same calendar year that the attacker ruled herself out of representing her country.
Gosine is one of four TTFA picks for the First Citizens 2025 Sports Awards, which is scheduled for 17 January at the National Academy for the Performing Arts (NAPA) in Port of Spain.
Photo: Nicholas Bhajan/ Wired868.
Kevin Molino, who retired from the Men’s National Senior Team last year, was adjudged to be the Senior Male Player of the Year, while Derrel “Zoom Zoom” Garcia and Orielle Martin were the Junior Male and Female Player of the Year respectively.
Molino, 35, led the Soca Warriors for both goals and assists (four and respectively, from nine starts and four substitute appearances) in 2025, despite featuring from the substitutes’ bench in about a third of his international appearances. And he also starred for Defence Force as they swept the domestic circuit.
Martin, a Bishop Anstey High School East student, was Trinidad and Tobago’s go-to player at Concacaf Under-17 and Under-20 level in 2025, while she featured as a substitute against Barbados in last month’s Concacaf W Championship qualifier.
Photo: Nicholas Bhajan/ Wired868.
Garcia did play a competitive match for Trinidad and Tobago in 2025. However, the St Benedict’s College student was a regular contributor for San Juan Jabloteh in the TTPFL Tier One competition.
Garcia’s showing at the highest level of the domestic game probably earned him the nod ahead of the likes of Trinidad and Tobago-based players like Naparima College flanker Jaydon Caprietta, who performed creditably at the Concacaf Under-17 Championship and in his school’s emphatic 2025 SSFL showing.
However, TTFA president Kieron Edwards—in the absence of any known involvement from the technical committee or national coaches—should explain how Garcia got the nod ahead of 19-year-old Rio Cardines.
Garcia was 17 at the time.
Photo: TTPFL.
While Garcia’s national senior team career comprises of a few minutes in a scrimmage against a home-based Jamaica team, Cardines played eight times for Dwight Yorke’s Soca Warriors this year, including at the 2025 Concacaf Gold Cup and in the 2026 World Cup qualifying series.
In England, Cardines was among the substitutes when Crystal Palace defeated Manchester City in the Community Shield while he is a regular for the London-based club at the youth levels
Gosine’s nomination is also surprising.
Photo: TTFA Media.
Undeniably gifted, the attacker was due to make her competitive international debut for Trinidad and Tobago at the 2025 Concacaf Women’s Under-17 Qualifiers in January. (Gosine was cut from the 2024 Under-15 Concacaf Series for alleged indiscipline.)
However, barely a week before kickoff, Gosine was withdrawn from the squad by her mother and former national player Natalie Des Vignes-Gosine, due to her alleged emotional response to the non-selection of sister Natalia Gosine.
Gosine’s late pull-out meant Trinidad and Tobago coach Ayana Russell could not name a replacement and the Women Soca Warriors, the host team, had to compete with 17 players—rather than 18.
Photo: Nicholas Bhajan/ Wired868.
Gosine remained a potent force at Secondary Schools Football League (SSFL) level, where she helped Pleasantville to the Girls Intercol title. And she shone in the 2025 WoLF competition, although she could only help Defence Force to second place behind Club Sando.
And, last month, Gosine finally made her competitive international duty for the Women’s National Senior Team, in a 5-0 win away to Barbados.
However, despite Gosine’s obvious promise, it is extraordinary that left flanker Kedie Johnson was overlooked.
Johnson, who recently moved from Lille to Saint-Etienne in France’s top flight, is Trinidad and Tobago’s highest profile player–although her performances in Europe are rarely commented upon in her homeland.
Photo: Ire Charles/ Wired868.
Johnson, athletic, skilful and tigerish, is heading into her fourth successive season in France’s Première Ligue with Saint-Etienne. And it was her cracking shot from 30 yards out in the 77th minute that broke Barbados’ resistance at Kensington Oval last month, as Trinidad and Tobago moved from 1-0 after 76 minutes to eventual 5-0 winners.
The only other full professionals in the current Trinidad and Tobago Women’s team are Maria-Frances Serrant (Saudi Arabia) and veteran captain Kennya ‘YaYa’ Cordner.
Incidentally, Cordner helped Club Sando to the WoLF title last year.
The TTFA has never had a consistent method for selecting its player of the year nominees, which vacillated between selection from the national coaches, the technical staff, the technical department or simply the football president.
Wired868 was unable to determine what criteria were used to decide upon the TTFA’s 2025 nominees. However, checks suggested that the picks were not made by either the technical committee or the executive committee.
TTFA president Kieron Edwards did not reply to our queries up until the time of publication.
(via TTFA Media.)
2025 First Citizens Sports Awards nominees
- Aquatics (Female Youth): Zuri Ferguson.
- Aquatics (Male Youth): Liam Carrington.
- Aquatics (Female Senior): Zuri Ferguson.
- Aquatics (Male Senior): Dylan Carter.
- Athletics (Female Youth): Janae De Gannes.
- Athletics (Male Youth): Jaden Marchan.
- Athletics (Female Senior): Leah Bertrand.
- Athletics (Male Senior): Keshorn Walcott.
(via Boston Globe.)
- Automobile Sports – Karting (Youth): Naomi Garcia.
- Automobile Sports – Drifting (Youth): Jesse Heerah.
- Automobile Sports – Drag Racing (Senior): Celeste Gajadhar.
- Automobile Sports – Circuit Racing (Senior): Frankie Boodram.
- Badminton (Female Youth): Amara Urquhart.
- Badminton (Male Youth): Ethan Ramcharan.
- Badminton (Female Senior): Chequeda De Boulet.
- Badminton (Male Senior): Vance Juteram.
- Basketball (Female Youth): Melissa Pierre.
- Basketball (Male Youth): Zachary Julien.
- Basketball (Female Senior): Jillisa Briggs.
- Basketball (Male Senior): Ahkeel Boyd.
(via NBFTT.)
- Boxing (Male Youth): Makieve Bellille.
- Boxing (Male Senior): Jadeon Castillano.
- Boxing (Female Senior): Tianna Guy.
- Canoe Sprint (Male Youth): Darrius Nicholas.
- Canoe Sprint (Male Senior): Nicholas Robinson.
- Chess (Female Youth): Samantha Dolly.
- Chess (Male Youth): Kael Samuel Bisnath.
- Chess (Female Senior): Zara La Fleur.
- Chess (Male Senior): Joshua Johnson.
- Cycling (Female Youth): Kyra Williams.
- Cycling (Male Youth): Jelani Nedd.
- Cycling (Female Senior): Teniel Campbell.
- Cycling (Male Senior): Nicholas Paul.
Arlenis Sierra during the women’s cycling road race finals at the Pan American Games in Lima, Peru on 10 August 2019.
(Copyright AP Photo/ Juan Karita.)
- Darts (Female Senior): Karen Ramcharan.
- Darts (Male Senior): James Walklin.
- Field Hockey (Female Youth): Mikeshia De Silva.
- Field Hockey (Male Youth): Nicholas Siu Butt.
- Field Hockey (Female Senior): Shaquille Danielle.
- Football (Female Youth): Orielle Martin.
- Football (Male Youth): Derrel Garcia.
- Football (Female Senior): Nikita Gosine.
- Football (Male Senior): Kevin Molino.
- Golf (Female Youth): Isabella Ramdeen.
- Golf (Male Youth): Ross Ramkissoon.
- Golf (Female Senior): Victoria Seenath.
- Golf (Male Senior): Christopher Richards Jr.
Photo: Nicholas Bhajan/ Wired868.
- Horse Racing (Male Senior): Dillion Khelawan.
- Judo (Female Youth): Kyla Philbert.
- Judo (Male Youth): Xavier Millette.
- Judo (Female Senior): Latesha Gill.
- Judo (Male Senior): Kadeem Hislop.
- Karate (Female Youth): Cassidy Sam.
- Karate (Male Youth): Landon Batson.
- Karate (Female Senior): Lei-Anna Valentine.
- Karate (Male Senior): Jyri Spicer.
- Netball (Female Youth): Shian Lewis.
- Netball (Female Senior): Maikea Bramble.
Photo: Johann Corneille/ Wired868.
- Para Athletics (Senior): Akeem Stewart.
- Powerlifting (Male Youth): Antonio Francis.
- Powerlifting (Female Senior): Kezia Hunte.
- Powerlifting (Male Senior): Joseph McDonald.
- Rally (Male Senior): Craig Sumair.
- Rugby (Female Youth): Alyssa Fields.
- Rugby (Male Youth): Jeremiah Moore.
- Rugby (Female Senior): Teresita Dillon.
- Rugby (Male Senior): Jonathan Taylor.
- Sailing (Female Youth): Sariyah Stoute.
- Sailing (Male Youth): Kyle D’Juran.
- Sailing (Female Senior): Kelly Arrindell.
- Sailing (Male Senior): Stefan Stuven.
(Copyright TTO.)
- Shooting Sports – Smoothbore Air Rifle (Female Youth): Daniella Scott.
- Shooting Sports – Smoothbore Air Rifle (Male Youth): Raavir Sookraj.
- Shooting Sports (Female Senior): Simone Aboud-Moses.
- Shooting Sports (Male Senior): Gifford Wright.
- Sport Martial Arts (Female Youth): Malika Williams.
- Sport Martial Arts (Male Youth): Christian Winter.
- Sport Martial Arts (Female Senior): Chelsea Winter.
- Sport Martial Arts (Male Senior): Dave Samdeo.
- Squash (Female Youth): Gia Ghuran.
- Squash (Male Youth): Seth Thong.
- Squash (Female Senior): Rhea Khan.
- Squash (Male Senior): Chayse Mc Quan.
- Table Tennis (Female Youth): Chloe Fraser.
- Table Tennis (Male Youth): Malik Gopaul.
- Table Tennis (Female Senior): Chloe Fraser.
- Table Tennis (Male Senior): Yuvraaj Dookram.
- Triathlon (Female Youth): Ashleigh Thomas.
- Triathlon (Male Youth): Liam D’Abadie.
- Volleyball (Female Youth): Sadie Torkar.
- Volleyball (Male Youth): Michael Burkette.
- Volleyball (Female Senior): Channon Thompson.
- Volleyball (Male Senior): Jareef Miguel.
- Women’s Cricket (Youth): Samara Ramnath.
- Women’s Cricket (Senior): Karishma Ramharack.
(Copyright Adrian Dennis/ AFP 2018.)
Special Olympic Awardees
- Athletics (Female): Tershama Tempro.
- Athletics (Male): Cadel Cuffy.
- Basketball (Female): Melissa Nanan.
- Basketball (Male): Kenton Francois.
- Bocce (Male): Kadeem Seaton.
- Floorball (Female): Kayleigh Figaro.
- Football (Male): Kerwin Rodney.
- Powerlifting (Male): Drexel Joseph.
- Swimming (Male): Trent Bethel.
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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.
