Yesterday CL Financial San Juan Jabloteh celebrated the members of its Professional Football League outfit who were part of the Soca Warriors historic journey to the 2006 World Cup finals in Germany at a function hosted at the Lawrence Duprey Stand, Queen’s Park Oval, Port-of-Spain.
Senior national midfielder Aurtis Whitley and right back Cyd Gray were presented with the keys to their two bedroom townhouses.
Both houses have a combined market value of $1,300,000.
Their national team mates Kelvin Jack (nine matches) and Cornell Glen (five matches), former Jabloteh players, and Jabloteh’s Kerry Baptiste (three matches), Angus Eve (11 matches), Keyeno Thomas (two matches) and Daurance Williams (five matches) received Executive Insurace Policies from Clico.
Clico’s executive chairman Lawrence Duprey maintained that his company’s financial contribution to the club over the last decade was not solely a corporate decision “but about a sponsors unshakable faith in human potential.
“It was not just about donating funds,” Duprey continued “but about supporting young, hopeful minds from underprivileged areas who otherwise may never have had a chance in life, much less to make to make it to the Fifa World Cup carrying the hopes of a nation and a region with them.
The houses are located within Home Construction Limited’s Crossings Development, Santa Rosa, Arima on approximately 1,200 square feet.
Duprey also revealed that CL Financial will introduce a National Mentoring Programme themed “Nation Builders” which will focus on the development of the individual both on and off the field.
The company has also taken on the sponsorship of the “Total Football” television programme aired on CNC 3.
Jabloteh director Jerry Hospedales charted T&T’s 18 match, 17 month campaign from June 13, 2004 in the Dominican Republic to November 16, 2005 in Bahrain and noted that the team’s journey was aided by quite a few locally based professionals eight of which came out of Jabloteh’s system.
Of these eight Baptiste, Eve, a former national captain, Thomas and Williams were presented with $50,000 Executive Insurance Policy while Jack, who plies his trade with Scotland’s Dundee United, and Glenn of the MLS’ Colorado Rapids received $25,000 policies.
The ceremony was permeated by performances by Chris Garcia who sang his “Deutschland”, a tribute to the Soca Warriors and Neil Baptiste whose extempore was well received by the audience which included players, Clico executives and T&T Football Federation (T&TFF) Special Advisor Austin Jack Warner.