JACK WARNER, Special Advisor to the Trinidad and Tobago Football Federation (TTFF) has given the assurance that Trinidad and Tobago footballers will be handsomely rewarded for their achievement of taking the country to their first ever World Cup finals in Germany next year.
And efforts are still ongoing to work out a system on how payments will be made and to which players.
Bruce Aanensen, manager of the national team said yesterday that despite what arrangements are made, there will always be players who may feel that they have ended up on the wrong side of the rope, where payments are concerned.
"Players who have made contributions in earlier matches of the qualifiers, against St Lucia and Antigua will rightfully have a strong case that they have played a part in the triumph by the national team," Anansen said.
But he also said that Warner, in his view has said enough to convince him that all players will be taken care of.
Although the players, rightfully, may not get as much as those who played in the final round of the qualifiers, there is a feeling that all must share in the pie.
Only recently the Bahrain Football Federation rewarded their players for their contribution with a US$60,000 pay package, and it was reported that some 50 players were included in the payout.
Aanensen however pointed out also that Warner will first have to work out what the football federation will gain before he can work out what the players can get.
According to Anansen, FIFA, the world governing body for football, is expected to host a meeting soon to announce the amounts to be given out to countries for securing a place in the World Cup.
He noted that a meeting has been carded for tomorrow in Germany and it could well be among the topics to be discussed.
The high profile meeting which will take place on the eve of the all-important World Cup draw in Germany, is also expected to reveal monies to be given out for the different stages of the competition such as the quarter-final, semi-final and final round.
Aanensen said further that based on how much the football federation will get for the World Cup qualification, then the football boss will decide what the players will be entitled to.
He pointed out that only in April an agreement was made between the players and the football federation for the players to be given 30 percent of all sponsorship that the team gets.
Carib Brewery has already come on board with a TT$10 million sponsorship deal most of which will go towards the World Cup team preparation.
The national team manager said that monies to be given out to the players will be delivered as promised from the football federation, while government is also to reward the players, a promise that Prime Minister Patrick Manning made on their arrival at the airport on November 17.
PM Manning had said that he would meet personally with captain Dwight Yorke to work out a payment plan.
Aanensen said however that he has not heard anything from the government concerning the players’ compensation plan but noted that such a decision will be worked out with the players and the government.