The Government of T&T will allocate a sum of three million dollars to run the 2009 season of the T&T Pro League.
The figure which is $800,000 less than the funding given to the league by Government to run the 2008 season of local football was described by Hunt as, a sign that Government was still committed to the development of professionals in local football despite having to make cut backs because of the current financial crisis.
“We will continue with our financial support of the T&T Pro League next year because we have identified it as a good feeder of local talent into the National football team.”
The Ministry of Sport like all other government ministries was asked to review their spending from the 2008/09 fiscal year, due to the global financial melt down and the fall in national revenue. Hunt however said that this was only one of several reasons for the review in the allocation given this year.
“I, like all other ministers in government, have been asked to review expenditure but that is only one of the reasons that there has been a cut.
“The original idea behind the sponsorship was that it be done on a sliding scale. Meaning that over time we reduce the figure, giving as the league looks for new and more creative ways of funding their operations.”