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‘Not because you’re from the ghetto means you’re not good or means it's an excuse to not try to be good.”

Those are the words of National Under 20 captain Sheldon Bateau who recently returned home from a trial with American MLS club Sporting Kansas.

The former Fatima College player who appeared at the FIFA  2007 Under 17 and 2009 Under 20 World Cups with T&T is hoping to lead the young “Soca Warriors” to another U-20 World Cup.

They travel to Guatemala for the Concacaf qualifiers next month. For Bateau, growing up in St. Ann’s was not an easy thing and he considers himself a “Ghetto” youth who has made something good for himself through football and now he wants to see others follow in stride.

Sheldon sees himself as part of history in the making. He wants to someday play for Manchester United. With all that rich history on his side already, there must be a recipe worth the while and he hopes that other upcoming youngsters can follow his words.

“For the up and coming players…just set your goals and work hard towards them because nothing good comes easily and in this day and age.

It’s easy to get caught up in the wrong crowd but to be somebody you have to make sacrifices and not because you live in the ‘GHETTO’ means you can’t achieve something in life because I have lived in the ‘GHETTO’ all my life and so have most of my teammates and we don’t let that affect us negatively.

Instead we use it as a way of working hard every day to one day help those that are not as gifted or as talented,” Bateau said during a recent interview.