After their qualification for the Germany 2006 World Cup, the Trinidad and Tobago senior national footballers received a huge boost courtesy Carib Brewery yesterday to the tune of $10 million.
The mock cheque was handed over by Carib's managing director Andrew Sabga to Trinidad and Tobago Football Federation (T&TFF) special advisor and Local Organising Committee (LOC) Germany 2006 Ltd chairman Jack Warner at a media conference at the Mandela Hall of the Centre of Excellence, Macoya yesterday.
Unfortunately, heavy traffic on the Churchill Roosevelt Highway prevented the foreign-based members of the national team from taking part in the proceedings as scheduled, and instead they made their way directly to Piarco International Airport headed back to their respective clubs.
The money from Carib is to be used in part to fund the qualifying campaign and also developmental programmes.
Warner revealed that there was also an agreement that the players take 30 per cent of whatever money is put forward for next year's World Cup.
But dealing with yesterday's sponsorship, a thrilled and pleased Warner said the donation from Carib was always on the cards.
"Today's sponsorship seems to me to be just a matter of course," he stated, adding that Carib had been involved in the failed 1973 and 1989 World Cup qualifying campaigns and continued with this latest one.
"...So all along Carib has kept the faith. Therefore for me it is no surprise Carib is here with us today."
Warner said more good will come from the sponsorship than the country can ever imagine.
Stating the well-known fact that Trinidad and Tobago became the smallest country to qualify for the World Cup, the FIFA vice-president also revealed that T&T did so on the smallest budget.
"In my capacity as chairman of the FIFA finance committee, I can tell you that no country has ever qualified for a World Cup for less than US$18 million (budget) and more than US$42 million. We did so under US$5 million," said Warner, who has claimed that he pumped some $20 million of his own money into the 2006 Germany campaign to date.
Warner projected that the actual budget for the remainder of the Road to Germany-which will include four practice matches ("the biggest being on March 29"), various camps and seminars, nutritional and dietary services, and the team landing in Germany weeks before the official June 9 kick-off of the world's most popular sporting event-will be between US$12-15 million.
"You'll understand it is not as cheap as you would have thought at the beginning," he emphasised.
For that reason, much more financial support from corporate T&T is required and is expected because of the lessons taught and the effects made by the national football team on the country's psyche.
"It is nice and good to line the streets and applaud. I was thrilled with the reception," Warner said, "but this country has learned the values of courage, grit, determination and hard work."
He continued: "We have taken by far what is not our best team but we have taken our team and converted our best chance, our one real chance, our only chance."
"What other benefit or praise can you find when the Prime Minister of this country said that the footballers have done what no other politician has been able to...that is unite the country."
Warner also told the gathering that because of the insistence of the public, corporate T&T, government officials, and even FIFA, who referred to the national senior team by the name in a confirmation of qualification letter to T&TFF general secretary Richard Groden, the team will once more be known as the "Soca Warriors".
Before Warner delivered his address, Sabga had heaped praise on the efforts of the national squad and pledged his support for local football in the long haul.
Commissioner of Police Trevor Paul was also in attendance and Warner advised him that he could use the team to go into the communities and offer the youths hope and deter them from a life of violence and darkness.
"If ever you had need for football, now is the time because you and your policemen cannot do it by yourself," he said.