There will be no football for T&T's Warriors if it is not free. T&T Football Association (TTFA) president David John-Williams shared this yesterday as he again confirmed the sad financial state of affairs of his association.
"It (TTFA) is in the red," John-Williams said.
In spite of this, however, his negotiating skills has landed the Warriors on the verge of friendlies against Serbia and Equatorial Guinea next year. And Guardian Media Sports learned that John-Williams is also locked in talks with a top Spanish La Liga club, as well as Scotland for matches.
After two international friendly matches against Thailand and Iran, the embattled football association has not paid a single cent but has successfully arranged for its team to face Wales in Wrexham, England on March 20.
John-Williams is also set to sign on the dotted line to confirm the match with Equatorial Guinea also in March in Spain, which will coincide with a meeting between Scotland and Kazakhstan.
The Warriors, it is understood will also play against the "Scots" in Marbella, Spain, once final arrangements have been sorted out.
The local football boss told Guardian Media Sports his association is also still in talks with Serbia for a match on February next year, right here in Trinidad.
"We are attempting to get Serbia to pay its own airfare but we will take care of accommodation, meals and appearance fee. To achieve this we have to get a sponsor and are attempting to do so right now," said John-Williams, who ruled out the use of the Home of Football in Balmain, Couva, to house the Serbians as it will not be completed in time.
He said because the association has absolutely no money in its coffers, it has had to ask the federations of teams the Warriors are playing in, to pay its expenses.
"Apart from the all-expenses-paid trips, the team (Warriors) also receive appearance fees, which we use to pay the players their match fees. Because of the little to no funding in the coffers of the TTFA, we have had to resort to this," John-Williams said.
He noted that although only two matches have been confirmed to date, he will give a guarantee that the team will play a minimum of at least four good international friendly matches before the CONCACAF Gold Cup.