Youth development in Trinidad, simply put, consists of tournaments and competitions. The Secondary Schools Football League (SSFL), Youth Pro League (YPL), Republic Bank Youth League, Next Level U-19 Tournament and Commissioner’s Cup are the main players in this arena. I will use the SSFL as the starting point of the …
Read More »Barney’s bible: Does T&T player development follow best practices? Are our youth competitions helping or hurting?
A question on The Burdie and Barney podcast during our discussion with former England Premier League and 2006 World Cup goalkeeper Shaka Hislop lingered long after that episode was over: Have we been developing players? Or were we just blessed with talented players previously and, now, not so much? At …
Read More »Former World Cup assistant referee and lay minister, Gonzales, elected SSFL president
Former 1998 Fifa World Cup assistant referee Merere Louis Gonzales, a retired teacher at Success RC and Mt Hope Secondary and a lay minister at the Maloney, D’Abadie and Mausica RC churches, is the new Secondary Schools Football League (SSFL) president, following a resounding win in the SSFL’s virtual annual …
Read More »Dear Editor: Covid-19 regulations unfairly and disproportionately affecting youth athletes
“[…] In primary schools, it is 2,475 from 4,960 students or 49.8% [who are inactive due to Covid-19 regulations], while it is 2,838 from 4,750 students in secondary schools or 60%. That means a combined total of 5,313 from 9,710 students in Tobago, or 58%. “If Trinidad and Tobago had …
Read More »‘Fenwick is misleading the public!’ Eve knocks T&T coach for supposedly disrespectful, contradictory statements
Club Sando FC head coach and former Soca Warriors stand-out Angus Eve has accused Trinidad and Tobago Men’s National Senior Team head coach Terry Fenwick of misleading local football fans on several issues—not least regarding the Warriors’ supposed 5-0 win over Sando, earlier this month. On 23 January, Fenwick posted …
Read More »Coaches association meets SSFL coaches, TTSL and WoLF next
The following is a press statement from the National Football Coaches of Trinidad and Tobago (NFCTT): The National Football Coaches of Trinidad and Tobago (NFCTT) continued its town hall-styled meetings on Saturday 28th November 2020. The guests of this meeting were the Secondary School Football League (SSFL) Premier Division coaches. …
Read More »‘Irreplaceable!’ Hyland, Saunders and Phillip pay tribute to late ‘Mr Brinsley’
East Mucurapo Secondary football team manager Brinsley Hutson passed away yesterday at the Mt Hope Hospital, where he was warded since suffering a stroke last Friday. Hutson, who worked in sales at Massy Technologies, was one of the first crop of students at the then Mucurapo Senior Comprehensive in the …
Read More »‘Grosvenor had the gift of understanding the teenage spirit’; SSFL honours iconic coach
“[…] As we got to know him better it became abundantly clear that he did not do it to make a name for himself (which happened anyway) or to win championships (which his teams did anyway). Instead, he wanted to shape young individuals to act as leaders. “[Nigel] Grosvenor had …
Read More »‘Fly with the angels, Grovy!’ A footballing tribute to iconic SSFL coach Nigel Grosvenor
Trinidad and Tobago lost a giant of its youth football arena today, at roughly 3am. Former St Anthony’s College and Queen’s Royal College (QRC) football coach Nigel ‘Grovy’ Grosvenor passed away at the Couva Hospital this morning, more than a month after he was admitted there—following a positive test for …
Read More »‘Who’s looking after players?!’ Hyland and Bateau on owed monies, Qatar 2022 and United TTFA/Fifa
Soca Warriors captain Khaleem Hyland and veteran defender Sheldon Bateau are urging stakeholders to remember the young men and women who play the game, as they pointed to the desperate financial state of many local-based players at present. Former Trinidad and Tobago Football Association (TTFA) president David John-Williams left office …
Read More »Grosvenor grateful for love and prayers, iconic ex-St Anthony’s coach hospitalised for Covid-19
Iconic Secondary Schools Football League (SSFL) coach and former Trinidad and Tobago Football Association (TTFA) national youth team coach Nigel ‘Grovey’ Grosvenor is among 828 persons being treated for the novel coronavirus at present, within the Ministry of Health’s parallel health care system. Grosvenor was admitted to the Couva General …
Read More »SSFL to elect new president; Fraser, Gonzales and West bid to replace Wallace
The Secondary Schools Football League (SSFL) will elect a new president on 4 September with Phillip Fraser, Merere Louis Gonzales and Derek West challenging for the top position. The post of SSFL president was made vacant on 6 July when William Wallace resigned, in the midst of several scandals related …
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