Former outstanding Trinidad and Tobago goalkeeper, Shaka Hislop, has lamented the failure of Jamaica's and Trinidad and Tobago's football programmes to build on the successes realised from qualifying for the FIFA World Cup Finals in 1998 and 2006, respectively.
Hislop, who played a crucial role in getting Trinidad and Tobago to the World Cup and was his usual outstanding best throughout the tournament, registering a string of jaw-dropping saves to help his team to an astonishing 0-0 tie against overwhelming favourites, Sweden, in their opening match.
The England-born custodian, who has represented a number of English Premier League teams throughout his career, such as Newcastle United and West Ham, blasted regional bosses for their failure in ensuring that the countries were able to build on their historic achievements and pointed to a greater need for effectively managing the available talent pool.
"For me, it's a little bit disappointing that we haven't really embraced the opportunities that we have been given, in Jamaica's case in 1998 and in Trinidad and Tobago's case in 2006," said Hislop, who is a member of ESPN Soccernet Press Pass analytical team here aboard the Royal Caribbean Navigator of the Seas vessel.
"We don't take our administrative responsibilities seriously enough because everything is out there on the field; 11 players go out there to play and whether we fail or succeed, we put that responsibility on the 11 players. We don't focus on the bigger picture and that's a huge disappointment for me. We have to start appreciating the role that proper administration plays in success," Hislop reasoned.
Nurturing talent
Hislop, who has played over 400 games in combined league and national team competition during his 15-year career, believes both countries, largely regarded as the two powerhouses in Caribbean football, need to pay closer attention to the harnessing and nurturing of their talent pool and made reference to another small nation which has done exceptionally well on the world stage despite its size.
"You look at some of the small countries that have achieved a lot in world football such a Uruguay, they have a World Cup and went to the semi-finals the last time. They have a population of 3.4 million people and their focus has been on keeping hold of their talent, nurturing them, and I just don't feel that as countries, Jamaica or Trinidad and Tobago, have done the same," said Hislop. "The result is we have sporadic success but it's nothing consistent and that is what we yearn for, consistency."
Hislop went on to speak of his experience playing in the World Cup in 2006 and the emotions he felt while hearing his country's national anthem belt through the speakers.
"Without question, my most outstanding memory was going to the World Cup, walking out on the field on June 10, 2006 and hearing the national anthem of Trinidad and Tobago played on the world stage. Never mind what happened in the game and a lot of people remember that day for the result, which was a 0-0 against Sweden but for me that was not the highlight of my day.
As well as we played as a team, as well as I may have played as an individual, the highlight was hearing the anthem being played," Hislop added with a wide grin.