With three National Teams set to head into major qualifying tournaments for upcoming World Cups, the main attraction – the “Soca Warriors” led by Head Coach Francisco Maturana and Assistant Coach Russell Latapy will cost the Trinidad and Tobago Football Federation USD 279,131,57 for one of its ten qualifying matches in 2009.
The team, now in training at the Hasely Crawford Stadium, will depart for Buenos Aires on Wednesday for a live-in training camp prior to its arrival in El Salvador the week leading up to the World Cup Qualifier.
Such expenses will vary following the match in El Salvador, for each of the remaining nine qualifying matches. Five of those remaining matches will be played in Trinidad with the other four on the road.
TTFF Special Advisor Jack Warner was adamant to the fact that the country’s chances of qualifying for the 2010 World Cup will not suffer because of a lack of financial support.
“I maintain that at no time will we allow the country’s national team to feel inferior to other countries, or suffer in its preparations for matches on the road to South Africa. We are getting support in various areas. Look at the way the people turned out in their numbers for the last qualifying match against Cuba and now look at the support in the area of personnel – We even have Russell Latapy giving up his career in Scotland to come back and help us, the players and the staff are making the sacrifices. But sadly there remains a lack of financial support. But fear not, I repeat… it will not make us any weaker in our efforts to get to a second consecutive World Cup,” Warner concluded.
The other two teams in action include the National U-20 and U-17, both vying for spots in the respective 2009 FIFA World Championships.