Former Trinidad and Tobago football captain Sedley Joseph says he is honoured to be in the company of modern football greats Russell Latapy and Dwight Yorke, who will both be inducted into the First Citizens Foundation Hall of Fame next week.
Joseph, who was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1985, 17 years after he retired from the game, said he was happy to see Yorke and Latapy being inducted so soon after they hung up their international boots.
"It is an honour to be inducted in any hall of fame and I am extremely happy to see people who did well in my sport such as Latapy and Yorke being inducted this year and quite a few footballers have been inducted in recent times and that is good to see," he told the Express during a press conference at Queen's Park Oval, Port of Spain on Tuesday.
Joseph, who captained the T&T football team from 1964 to 1968, said: "I had a fairly rewarding career during which time Trinidad and Tobago played their first World Cup game right here at the Oval. We played against Suriname and the Oval was packed to capacity.
"It was the first time we played World Cup football and certainly all of us who played in that game were amateurs. None of us were professionals like we have today.
"People will always remember Yorke and Latapy, especially Yorke for playing in England and for Manchester United and for captaining the Trinidad and Tobago World Cup squad in a World Cup final in Germany in 2006," he added.
Remembering the euphoria of 2006, Joseph said those scenes would forever be etched in his memory and in the memory of most people in the country and said he was honoured to have played his part in T&T football all those years ago.
"I was in Germany and although I was not on the field, I felt honoured just being there and knowing that I was part of the journey," the former St Mary's College student added.
The former midfielder and Maple Club skipper also insisted that all 13 inductees this year fully deserved their rewards for their contribution to their respective sports and noted that this year's slate of inductees contained some of the Trinidad and Tobago's and the world's best athletes.
Among them is former West Indies cricket captain and current world record holder for most runs in a Test innings of 400 not out, Brian Lara.
Another past inductee Alexander Chapman, who was inducted in 1995 in the Administrator category, agreed with Joseph that the current group of inductees were indeed filled with great personalities.
Chapman said: "We have three outstanding personalities this year and they all played around the same time—Brian Lara, Dwight Yorke and Russell Latapy—and they all made a tremendous contribution to sport.
"And not only those three. Ann Brown John has been excellent for Trinidad and Tobago in cricket and hockey and she is now an excellent administrator with the women's cricket association so all 13 inductees have done the country proud in their respective fields," he added.