MINISTER of Sport and Community Development Shamfa Cudjoe said there are three options for Trinidad and Tobago's FIFA World Cup qualifier against Guyana, on March 25, with the preferred option of playing the match in Curacao.
On Saturday, speaking at the Ministry of Health covid19 briefing, Cudjoe said, "I think the suggestion that TTFA would have made earlier to play the game in Curacao...I think that option should be taken but at the end of the day we await the response of TTFA on this matter."
Cudjoe earlier said, "The TTFA would have applied to the Ministry of Health for permission of a clearance to have the players come in to play the game here in T&T and the Ministry of Health would have responded to TTFA offering three options."
According to Cudjoe, the three options are : to bring the players in time to quarantine to play; set the match for a later date to allow the players the time to properly quarantine or to play the game on a neutral ground in the Caribbean or within the Americas that both teams could agree on.
"When we were first approached by TTFA one of the options was to play in Curacao so I am thinking that TTFA may lean more towards Curacao at this point in time."
Cudjoe said the request by TTFA was made on February 2 which did not give the Ministry of Health and the TTFA much time to negotiate.
Discussing the importance of keeping the nation and the footballers safe, Cudjoe said, "We must remember as passionate as we are about wanting to play at home on home grounds and wanting home ground advantage, our priority is to ensure that our citizens are safe, that even these same footballers who are coming in are safe because they are coming from places like Denmark, the United Kingdom, the USA and other places where other strains of covid (exist)."
Cudjoe said everyone must be "protected."
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Cudjoe: Recreational sport to resume on Monday
By Jelani Beckles (T&T Newsday).
MINISTER of Sport and Community Development Shamfa Cudjoe said sporting enthusiasts can participate in recreational activities from Monday.
"I am here to simply announce that we are going to continue our roll back measures and today we are opening up to be able to have sporting activity taking place for recreational purposes," Cudjoe said at a Ministry of Health covid19 briefing, on Saturday.
Sports such as football and cricket can be held because Cudjoe said activities involving 22 people or less can take place. "We are not going to open up yet for leagues and that type of large activity that may attract larger crowds, so I am pleased (about) this roll back feature and that we are getting ready to go out and play once again."
Cudjoe added, "We are allowing outdoor sport only and that will be for recreational purposes...this is solely for the purpose of those who want to go out and play for their physical fitness and for their mental health. It is important that sporting bodies, sporting enthusiasts are knowledgeable and they understand what we are doing right now. It is important that we scale back or roll back slowly and we monitor the situation properly before we encourage larger gatherings."
Sports Ministry grants recreation access
T&T Guardian Reports.
From Monday, members of the national community have been given the green light to participate in recreational activities, according to Shamfa Cudjoe, the Minister of Sports and Community Development, who addressed the media during the Ministry of Health’s virtual press conference Saturday on the latest on the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.
The Minister said that members of the public are advised that the roll-back measure that will allow for outdoor recreational sporting activities for groups of no more than 22 persons, will officially be implemented from Monday.
She said: "Please note that this new measure does not include league activities and will not be allowed before Monday, February 22nd. We will not be rolling back for sports that are indoors and sports that require leagues and national competitions. This solely for persons who want to go out and play. This mainly for their physical fitness and mental health. It is important that sporting bodies and sports enthusiast understand what we are doing right now."
Back on November 8, the Prime Minister of T&T Dr Keith Rowley gave the green-light for national teams preparing for international competitions, to resume training while teams waiting for domestic action had to wait a while longer, giving the assurance that more will be done for sports once they can do so.
Rowley's permission comes on the heels of a request by national coach Terry Fenwick to National Security Minister Stuart Young, for his team to resume training ahead of the CONCACAF Gold Cup and FIFA World Cup Qualifying action in March.
The Prime Minister said then that: "We know that we have a number of sporting teams who are anxious to get engage in preparation for competition at home and abroad, so we are now going to allow all sporting teams that are engaged in national competition, international competition, those teams can now go back to full activity.
"And of course, if they are to have persons other than the team around, they are to remain in groups of no more than 10."