Trinidad and Tobago national football coach Jamaal Shabazz will approach the United States embassy tomorrow seeking permission to travel to the United States as a member of the national senior football team for the upcoming CONCACAF Gold Cup, which runs from July 8-28 in the United States.
Shabazz has had problems travelling to the US due to his involvement in the 1990 coup in Trinidad and Tobago as a member of the Islamic Jamaat Al Muslimeen group. Shabazz said that while he is able to fly to the US and has done so in recent times, he often has to do so under certain conditions and restrictions.
The Caledonia AIA technical director told the Trinidad Express that he had approached the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to help sort out his situation ahead of the CONCACAF Gold Cup.
“They advised me yesterday (Thursday) to make an application to the United States embassy, which I intend to do on Monday (tomorrow),” Shabazz told the Express.
Meanwhile, Shabazz faces no restriction when his Caledonia AIA team travels to Central America for CONCACAF Champions League matches in Guatemala and Mexico. Shabazz is technical director of the Morvant-Laventille based Caledonia AIA club, which have qualified for the 2013-2014 Championship that kicks off on August 6. It is the second successive year the club has qualified for the competition.
In 2012, Caledonia AIA qualified by virtue of winning the Caribbean Football Union (CFU) Club Championship, but this year were only the third Caribbean qualifier after Jamaica’s Portmore FC in a play-off to join fellow TT Pro League club W Connection and Valencia of Haiti to represent the region.
Caledonia AIA are grouped with Deportivo Toluca FC of Mexico and Guatemala’s CSD Comunicaciones. Shabazz said his club has great ambitions in the competition.
“Caledonia AIA didn’t just qualify to participate, we fought hard for our place, we’ve made serious sacrifices, so I think our chances are as good as any other team this year,” said Shabazz.
According to Shabazz, Caledonia are happy to be pooled with a team from Mexico, citing that it is a good situation for them, since it will present an opportunity to play against an opposition that has a different style of play. “Cali” have faced USA’s Seattle Saunders and CD Marathon from Honduras during their inaugural run.
“Toluca has a good history, but we have a good history too. Playing at the Azteca in Mexico is exactly the experience that Caribbean teams need at this stage,” said Shabazz.