Former national midfielder Sedley “Skipper” Joseph died yesterday at the age of 80. Joseph had a fruitful footballing career, culminating with his captaincy of the national team in a five-year span from 1964-1968.
A former St Mary’s College pupil, Joseph scored nine goals wearing national colours, with his greatest achievement being a part of the squad which earned a bronze medal at the 1967 Pan American Games in Winnipeg, Canada.
A commanding midfielder, who was also named T&T’s Captain of the Last Century, Joseph was also at the helm of the T&T team that finished fourth in the round-robin 1967 CONCACAF Championship final. For his effort that year, Joseph was named T&T Footballer of the Year in 1967.
Considered one of the all-time greats of the local game, he captained top local club Maple for ten years in a period in which the historic club dominated the competition in the Port of Spain Football League, claiming the title seven times in that period.
In first class league competition, Sedley captained Maple to a four-year sweep between 1960 and 1963 of that league title after making his first class debut a year earlier in 1959.
Following the conclusion of his career, Joseph was inducted into the Trinidad and Tobago Sports Hall of Fame in 1985, before being bestowed the FIFA Centennial Order of Merit in 2004. He was also awarded the Trinidad and Tobago Humming Bird Medal Gold (for Sport) in 2005. He also spent the majority of his post-playing years as a popular radio and TV sports commentator.
TTFA communications manager Shaun Fuentes stated on his Facebook page: “May perpetual light shine upon you #SedleyJoseph... an absolute privilege and pleasure to have been able to interact with you...RIP Sincerest condolences to his family and ex-teammates from his era”, Fuentes stated.
In a tribute to Joseph, Veteran Footballer Foundation of Trinidad and Tobago (VFOTT) president Selby Browne extended his condolences to Joseph’s daughters Monique and Nichola and the rest of the Joseph family, on behalf of his organisation.
“It is with sadness that we mourn the passing for our long standing former national football captain Sedley Joseph who succumbed to his health challenges this afternoon at the Port of Spain General Hospital, where he had been warded for the past few days,” Browne stated.
He said sympathies are also extended to the members of the Maple Sports Club and the entire football community of T&T.
“Sedley was an outstanding leader who discharged his responsibilities as captain diligently, with discipline and always extended an encouraging word to his teammates to get the best out of them,” stated Browne.
Browne said Joseph’s contribution to the nation was outstanding in his professional capacity as a T&T Customs Officer for several decades and after retirement served at a sports broadcaster for the Redifusion Group.
“In 2001, Sedley led the large regional sports broadcast team for my company CSTN to Zimbabwe for a two-month period for the first West Indies cricket tour to Zimbabwe in a triangular series that included India.”
Joseph also served as a member of the T&T Sports Foundation for several years and “his contribution to Sport in T&T demonstrated commitment at all times to club, league and nation with steadfast dedication, integrity and selflessness, always demonstrating his vested faith and devotion to God.
“As we bid farewell, we all joined in the prayer that Sedley’s soul would find warmth in the arms of God with eternal Rest In Peace,” Browne concluded.
SOURCE: T&T Express