The national U-20 and U-17 women’s football teams will head off for two preparatory tours.
The announcement was made by Concacaf President and TTFF’s Special Adviser Jack Warner at a press conference yesterday at Concacaf’s office in Port-of-Spain. Warner told the media that the total cost for the visits will be in excess of half a million T&T dollars. The U-20’s will head off to sister Caricom state Jamaica for a four day visit from August 5-9, while the U-17’s who are preparing for the Fifa 2010 U-17’s Women’s World Cup to be staged in T&T, will visit two Central American countries in Panama and El Salvador from July 30 to August 9.
The U-17 team will first visit Panama, where they will play their counterparts from that country in a match on the first of August, before they head off to El Salvador to match skills with the players from that country’s national team in two matches. Director of Women’s football and Head Coach of the U-17’s Even Pellerud, said over the last couple of months they have been able to demonstrate the team’s progress in the Women’s Football League (WoLF) and he’s very pleased with the team’s performance so far. “The next stage for us is to prove that the girls can play internationally. I’m very pleased with Warner’s announcement, because nothing is more important now than you can go out and play other international teams”.
The head coach said with the formality of the national anthems, the stadiums and the crowds, this is the real test for the players. “For me as a coach, this will be the final test on the players performance and also where we stand as a team”. While they have screened a number of overseas based players, Pellerud said only the local based players will be going on the trip, in an effort for them to get some much needed experience. A squad of 25 was expected to head into camp yesterday, with 23 to be selected for the Central American tour. The TTFF also announced that they have hired a new goalkeeping coach for the women, in Marius Rovde of Norway. The former Norway Premier league custodian, who also played alongside T&T’s Dennis Lawrence and Carlos Edwards in the English League, will be with the teams nine to ten days every month. He has been working with the teams for the past week and feels that the women are hungry to learn and he’s looking forward to working with them.
Assistant director of Women’s Football Jamaal Shabazz lashed out at the support the women’s football was receiving locally. He said facilities, funding and international exposure are lacking from women football. “When you look at the facilities in the communities, you wonder if the councillors and mayors and the MP’s have mothers, sisters and wives, there are no toilet facilities, they don’t cater for women,” said Shabazz. Meanwhile, Warner also announced that there will be two events next month, geared to promote 2010 U-17 world cup and also to garner support for women’s football locally. Fifa will facilitate a two day seminar titled “Com-Unity”, which will aim to bring all the stakeholders together for an optimal promotion of the world cup and women’s football in general. The TTFF on the other hand will launch a Women’s Legacy Project on August 17, with its mission to promote the world cup, as well as improve the quantity and quality of women’s football in the country.