THE MANAGEMENT of 1st FC Santa Rosa is setting its sights on fielding a team in the 2012 National Super League.
To achieve this reality, the club has formed a men’s team which will participate in the Eastern Football Association (EFA) Second Division this season.
The team will be eyeing a spot in the EFA’s First Division in 2011, which will be a stepping stone towards their qualification for the 2012 Super League.
The club’s pre-season training will get going on February 22 and the Santa Rosa squad will be featuring in both the Under-14 and Under-16 Divisions of the Trinidad and Tobago Football Federation (TTFF) National Youth League.
Santa Rosa were the runners-up in the Under-15 category last year.
There have been a number of activities involving members of the club within the past few weeks, on and off the field of play.
On December 12, two of the club’s coaches Timothy Rochford and Anderson Veronique attended a Digicel-sponsored clinic for coaches of Under-15 players.
The clinic, which was conducted by coaches from English Premier League club Sunderland, was staged at the Queen’s Park Oval, Port-of-Spain.
Another development within the club was the appointment of veteran administrator Norris Ferguson as its Media and Public Relations Officer, effective December 2009.
Ferguson has been involved at the administration level of local football since 1989, having served as president of the Southern Football Association, an assistant general secretary in the TTFF, manager of W Connection FC, secretary of the Pro League as well as manager of the national men’s Under-20 team in the mid-1990s, under Keith Look Loy (who is the president of 1st FC Santa Rosa).
He currently works as a match commissioner in the Pro League and Super League, at the local level, and throughout the Western Hemisphere for CFU, Concacaf and FIFA matches.
Also at the management level, a pair of firms have come on board to assist the club this year.
BG TT (British Gas Trinidad and Tobago) has contributed to Santa Rosa’s 2010 community development effort in the districts of Arima and Biche, while the Trinidad and Tobago Mortgage Finance Company Limited (TTMF) will continue its partnership with the club, having jumped on board in 2008.