Trinidad and Tobago will be caught up in Carnival festivities on Tuesday afternoon, but the national footballers will be busy fine-tuning for the 2006 World Cup as they engage in a friendly international against Iceland at Loftus Road in London, England.
And fans in T&T will have the chance to see the "Soca Warriors" in action in a delayed broadcast on Channels 4 and 16 at 8 p.m. on Carnival Tuesday.
The game, according to T&T/Germany 2006 Ltd, will be aired live throughout the Caribbean, with the exception of T&T due to Carnival celebrations, but highlights will be aired as ten-second inserts during the Parade of the Bands and then the game will be shown in full.
The game, the first for coach Leo Beenhakker's men since their 1-0 win over Bahrain on November 16 to clinch qualification for the World Cup, will also be shown in Iceland, the United States on Fox Sports, IEC Sweden and in England.
Eurosport has also expressed interest in airing the match, for which Transworld International (TWI) will be responsible for production.
Local radio listeners can follow the match live on TBC Radio from 3.45 p.m. on Tuesday.
"This is a big game for the team and we are obviously using it as a preparation for the World Cup. Let's see what happens. There is a lot of hype and interest over the qualification for the World Cup but we are there for an important warm-up match with Iceland and let's see what happens," Beenhakker told Trinidad and Tobago Football Federation (T&TFF) media officer Shaun Fuentes as he is well aware of the abundance of requests from international television and radio agencies for the "Soca Warriors", particularly during the short stay in London.
T&TFF international relations consultant Mike Berry and Andy Howes of match promoters Optima Sports reported that ticket sales have been going at a decent rate and the hype among the West Indian community in London has been encouraging.
There is also expected to be a contingent from the recently-established "Warrior Nation" supporters base and member Inshan "Flex" Mohammed and others will be in attendance to ensure the red, white and black are well represented.
Match commentary will be done by Martin Fisher and Dave Lamy, with colour comments by former England international John Barnes.
At the match venue, field boards have been put up by the T&T Tourism Development Company and team sponsors TSTT. Field boards have also been purchased internationally by Nestle, Moneygram, Western Union, Tourist Board (UK) and some Icelandic companies.
Queen's Park Rangers, whose Loftus Road ground will host the match, and police have agreed to allow fans to enter the venue with musical instruments, but will not allow fans to gather in large standing groups in the stands.
There will also be a Carnival display put on by Poison UK and two rhythm sections have been booked to entertain the crowd at the venue, which has a capacity of just over 19,000.
T&T team assistant manager George Joseph along with equipment manager Ikin Williams left for London yesterday to oversee prior arrangements for the team's arrival on Sunday, as well as sort the arrival of new adidas kits and equipment for the Dwight Yorke-captained national squad.
Yorke and the rest of the overseas-based players will also report to camp on Sunday morning, around the same time of the expected arrival of the T&T-based contingent.
The full team will assemble for lunch at the Renaissance Hotel, Heathrow, before a training session at the Queen's Park Rangers training ground at 4 p.m. on Sunday, followed by another 10 a.m. session at the same venue the next morning.
Beenhakker and members of the team will be at a media conference at the hotel from 12.30 p.m. on Monday and the final training session will be a closed on at the match venue from 7 p.m. on Monday.
The T&T team include Yorke, Coventry City striker Stern John, Shaka Hislop, Southampton's Kenwyne Jones, Glasgow Rangers' Marvin Andrews, Luton Town's Carlos Edwards, goalscoring hero Dennis Lawrence, newcomers Kevon Neaves and Anthony Noreiga and local duo Aurtis Whitley and Cyd Gray, while Iceland will be lining up the likes of Leicester City midfielder Johannes Guojonsson and Chelsea striker Eidur Gudjohnsen, as well as seven English-based players, three who ply their trade in Sweden and others based in Norway, Holland and Belgium.