It is said that honesty is the best policy and as such American coach of the Soca Princesses, Randy Waldrum, should be applauded for representing his players and asking they be treated with a degree of respect that should be accorded to all athletes representing their country.
There is no denying that the messages he tweeted have brought shame and embarrassment to the people of oil producing T&T and the management of the T&T Football Association (TTFA).
Waldrum’s response/reaction or “emotional disturbance” was brought about by poor planning and implementation on the part of the football administrators in T&T.
As such making him the scapegoat and having him apologise indicating that he could have addressed the avoidable situation in a more sugar-coated approach does not excuse the TTFA of their role in this fiasco. Additionally, as has been quoted in a media report, placing a social media ban on players from posting pictures and commenting on assistance they have received from civic minded supporters does not address the root cause of the problem.
The context of this embarrassing fiasco did not start with the tweet from Waldrum. Its genesis can be linked to poor planning and implementation starting with the lead up to the Caribbean Cup. Initially, some of the players were in the US for the training camp while others were kept back in T&T due to administrative matters. Additionally, their practice matches against Mexico were cancelled.
Heading into the inaugural Caribbean Cup for women in September, the Soca Princesses were touted as having a more than reasonable chance of qualifying from the CONCACAF qualifiers for the 2015 FIFA World Cup in Canada.
The first three teams will go directly to the World Cup while the 4th place team will play a qualifier from South America (Ecuador) for a final chance to qualify. On winning the Caribbean Cup captain Maylee Attin-Johnson and her team made a passionate plea to Trinidad and Tobago to support their goal to qualify for the World Cup in 2015.
The Soca Princesses have surely not been treated as princesses, if anything they have been treated like a recreational touring team playing for fun! When other qualifiers such as Jamaica and Haiti arrived in the US before the Caribbean champions it says a lot! The magnanimity of the Haitian players and coach must be applauded. They took of their own monies and pledge donation to the Soca Princesses. Haiti is considered one of the poorest countries in the Western Hemisphere!
This debacle cannot be good for the psyche of the players especially as they prepare to play the number one team in the World, the US in their opening match on October 15. Between winning the Caribbean Cup and the start of the CONCACAF qualifiers the team has not played any competitive friendly internationals to keep them match ready to face the likes of the US. What does this say about their preparation? This is just not good enough!
This matter must not be allowed to die on its own. A number of corrective measures have to take place. Firstly, there needs to be a formal apology on the part of the TTFA to the players and technical staff of the Soca Princesses. Additionally, an apology should be extended to the people of Trinidad and Tobago and those Trinbagonians living in the US who came to the team in need. A formal thank you must be extended to the Haitian football Association and its players and FC Dallas for expressing their open support for the Soca Princesses.
Secondly, there must a formal investigation into why this situation arose especially in light of the comments by the TTFA president that the “governance and structure of the organisation is faulty”. Those who are responsible should be held accountable and this must be made public.
It is important for the TTFA to restore confidence in the mind of the public about its ability to efficiently, effectively and transparently organise football in the country. These lessons have to register quickly as greater challenges lay ahead. It cannot be business as usual.
The Soca Princesses participation in the 2015 World Cup will be known soon and as such a plan should already be in the making mapping out their World Cup participation preparation. The SOCA Warriors have a busy schedule ahead of them with the Caribbean Cup, CONMEBOL South American Cup, CONCACAF Gold Cup and Russia 2018 World Cup qualifiers.
At the end of the day, if (when, fingers crossed) the Soca Princesses qualify for the World Cup, everyone who have made it a struggle for them, will jump on board ready to surf the wave of their success.
Win, lose or draw, all the best to Attin-Johnson and her team and coach Waldrum as they battle determinedly to win deserving glory of playing in World Cup Canada, 2015.