On Tuesday, the FIFA/CONCACAF World Cup qualifiers which were scheduled to starts in October was postponed but the decision was met with a great sigh of disappointment but also understanding.
In a release mere weeks before the start of the action, said: "CONCACAF held recent discussions with its Member Associations, FIFA and other stakeholders as the Confederation continued to plan for the resumption of its competitions across the region. Following those discussions, CONCACAF and FIFA have jointly agreed that the CONCACAF Qualifiers for the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 will not be played in the FIFA match windows of October or November 2020, and will instead begin with the first round in the FIFA match window of March 2021."
It added, "Many parts of the region continue to have very challenging public health situations, and that has been a key factor in this decision. Additionally, several countries across the confederation have travel restrictions and quarantine requirements, which would make international football involving 30 national teams extremely difficult."
This means that the players and their staff will have to wait a while longer to begin action. T&T's senior national team manager Basil Thompson told Guardian Media Sports on Tuesday that the players were obviously disappointed, as they were eager to put into action what they have been working on since June.
"I think the staff of the team are also disappointed since they too wanted to see their work being executed. However though, we are all very much in agreement with the decision, since the health of the players and all involved are of paramount importance," Thompson explained.
The Soca Warriors were scheduled to begin their Group F campaign with a clash with regional neighbours Guyana on October 8. The other teams in that group are St Kitts/Nevis, Bahamas and Puerto Rico. Only the winner will advance from the group.
National coach Terry Fenwick had painted a picture of gloom when the draw was made on August 20, lamenting on the team's dire financial position which was due mainly to the ongoing feud between the United T&T Football Association and the sport's world governing body- FIFA, over the FIFA's appointment of a Normalisation Committee to manage TT's football.
However, Thompson, dismissed those concerns, saying the normalisation committee, which is being headed by businessman Robert Hadad, has taken care of all the team's financial concerns, thereby putting the players in a state of readiness. He said another matter of salaries for coaches could soon be taken care of as Hadad is set to meet to discuss this with the coaches of the national teams.
Thompson said, "Other concerns such as outstanding match fees for players, I cannot speak on because I do not know."
According to Thompson, the T&T team was set to be boosted by the return of several players from abroad, but this now is uncertain.
Concacaf will now work with FIFA to finalise a new schedule, beginning with the First Round in March 2021, which will be communicated in due cours.
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Update on the Concacaf Qualifiers for the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022
Concacaf.com
Concacaf has held recent discussions with its member associations, FIFA and other stakeholders as the confederation continues to plan for the resumption of its competitions across the region.
Following those discussions, Concacaf and FIFA have jointly agreed that the Concacaf Qualifiers for the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 will not be played in the FIFA match windows of October or November 2020, and will instead begin with the first round in the FIFA match window of March 2021.
Many parts of the region continue to have very challenging public health situations, and that has been a key factor in this decision. Additionally, several countries across the confederation have travel restrictions and quarantine requirements, which would make international football involving 30 national teams extremely difficult.
Concacaf will now work with FIFA to finalize a new schedule, beginning with the first round in March 2021, which will be communicated in due course.