Local Football

“I have a story to tell,” said 26-year-old Trinidad and Tobago left-back Keston Julien. On Saturday 1 April 2023, Julien sprinted forward to get on the end of a counterattack for his employers, FC Sheriff Tiraspol, in an away fixture against Zimbru Chişinău when his knee gave way. “It felt …

The Defence Force Football Club announced the departure of head coach Densill Theobald, after an abrupt parting of ways today—just three weeks before their opening 2025 Concacaf Caribbean Cup fixture against Haitian outfit Juventus de Cayes at the Hasely Crawford Stadium in Port of Spain. The 43-year-old Theobald, in his …

“[…] Shem Alexander, who remains in pre-trial detention in Florida, was arrested in Jamaica and extradited in November 2024—despite being cleared locally after a 15-month police investigation and without the indictment ever being shared with Trinidadian authorities. “Former Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley’s own public mention of being listed in …

“[…] One of the most common causes of injury in the preseason is the sudden increase in training intensity. Coaches must resist the common temptation to cram fitness into a short window. “[…] Coaches in Trinidad and Tobago must create an environment where players feel comfortable speaking up about pain, …

“[…] We have a national senior men’s soccer team funded by Fifa, the government (my tax dollars), and private donors that pays for radio announcers’ travel and lodging to cover their games on a radio station that broadcasts those games and sells advertising. “This scenario raises important questions about media independence, conflict of interest, and …

“[…] Dependency on global and regional football authorities, and government funds disempowers football leaders in these associations. Leaders often find themselves constrained by the conditions attached to grants or by the pressure to align with donor priorities rather than focusing on their country’s specific football needs. “[…] This dynamic can …

Arima North Secondary head coach Wayne Sheppard, St Augustine Secondary head coach Tacuma Jones and Fatima College manager Stephen ‘Bison’ Williams have called on the Secondary Schools Football League (SSFL) executive to overhaul its selection process for its All Star teams. Last Thursday, the SSFL executive, led by president Merere …

“[…] As coach Dwight Yorke noted following the Unity Cup, many of our local-based players are not yet ready for international-level competition. But this isn’t their fault. It is the result of a system that no longer provides the structure or support to develop top-level players here at home. “The …

Ace St Benedict’s College forward Derrel ‘Zoom Zoom’ Garcia was crowned the 2024 Secondary Schools Football League (SSFL) Player of the Year today, as the governing schools body held its annual prize giving ceremony at the Couva Point Lisas Chamber of Commerce. Remarkably, Garcia finished as the SSFL Premier Division’s …

QPCC, Trendsetter Hawks, Ball Blasters Youth Academy and Pro Series snagged a trophy apiece as the 2025 Republic Bank National Youth Football League (RBNYFL) concluded on a dramatic afternoon at the Ato Boldon Stadium on Saturday 24 May. The Ball Blasters fell to a stoppage time winner from Pro Series …

“[…] Instead of relying on one-off screening sessions, the TTFA should establish a structured scouting network that monitors players across various competitions such as the Republic Bank National Youth Football League, the All-Star Showcase, and the City Cup. “Trained scouts would track players over the course of a season, evaluating …

“[…] Anyone who has gone through this process knows the folly of trying to select the ‘best’ 20 players out of 100s of young footballers who will turn up. Sometimes a gem has a bad day. Sometimes he is placed on a team with only strange faces and he hardly …