With Egypt 2009 now a significant part of history for Trinidad and Tobago's national Under-20 team, their next quest will be to qualify for the 2012 London Olympic Games for the first time ever for T&T.
The young Soca Warriors will touch down at Piarco International Airport this evening from London, following their group stage exit from the FIFA U-20 World Championship in Egypt. After earning a point in Thursday's 0-0 draw with Paraguay, captain Leston Paul and his teammates will have a short break before returning to their respective clubs and universities.
Paul, defender Robert Primus and goalkeeper Glenroy Samuel will join the T&T senior team for the upcoming 2010 World Cup qualifiers against Costa Rica and Mexico, while midfielder Jake Thomson will meet the squad in San Jose next week.
T&T Football Federation (TTFF) special adviser Jack Warner, speaking after the goalless draw on Thursday, said the next big thing on the agenda was the team's preparation for the qualifying phase for the London Games.
The qualifiers begin next year with the Caribbean Football Union (CFU) leg of the campaign.
"This team will go for the next Olympics, the friendly internationals, the CONCACAF Gold Cup and the 2014 World Cup," Warner explained, "with some of the current World Cup team members we have at the moment, and therefore this team has a very long way to go and we have to invest in it with the right amount of resources, time and particularly funding," Warner told TTFF media officer Shaun Fuentes.
"If there can be a collective effort to ensure that this happens then the country will be well served."
Having witnessed Trinidad and Tobago's appearances at the 1991 Under-20 World Cup in Portugal, Germany 2006 and the Under-17s in Korea 2007, Warner said he particularly enjoyed Egypt 2009, ranking it up there with what the senior Soca Warriors did in the 2006 World Cup.
"Of course Germany was an experience by itself," said Warner, "but what these young men did in Egypt was also special for me. This is one of the better times that I've experienced because we came here and we were not disgraced and we did relatively well, seeing that we last qualified for this competition some 18 years ago."
Warner conceded that the T&T Under-20s could not match the experience of some of their higher-ranked opponents, but added that their "heart, guts and passion" ranked with the best teams.
"In all my tournaments as chairman,I feel a little more attached to this tournament because of what the team has been able to achieve. I have pumped $11 million into this team and that is all the money that this team has seen. Everything from training camps both home and overseas, travel and accommodation for the preparations, nutrition and medical supplies and allowances have been taken care of."
Warner added that although keeping the team together will be tough, they will have a "bright future", pointing out that he "cannot do it alone".
"I believe that the investment we have made in the team as of now cannot go in vain and that is my major concern at this time."
The FIFA vice-president also feels the four players called up for the senior national team had earned the opportunity.
"I am not surprised by their inclusion. And if we were not taking these two games as seriously as we are then I would have tried to see if more Under-20 players could have been included. But we will go into these games against Costa Rica and Mexico taking nothing for granted. The selection of the four players is well deserved," Warner added.
The T&T U-20 team has also been invited to a four-nation tournament in Bermuda in December.