T&T's 1953 Tour Party that toured England

Players:

Goal Keepers: Joey Gonsalves (captain), Pat Gomes.

Full Backs: Gerry Parsons, Syl Dopson, John Atwell, Bernard Garcia.

Half Backs: Conrad Brathwaite, Allen Joseph, Ian Seale, Dilbert Charleau, Doyle Griffith.

Forwards: Carlton 'Putty' Lewis, Robert Hamel-Smith, Carlton 'Squeakie' Hinds, Paul Carr, Matthew Nunes, Rex Burnett, Colin Agostini, Shay Seymour, Horace Lovelace.

Officials.
Commander Charles Hayward (president Trinidad AFA), ERR James (secretary, Trinidad AFA), W Vincent Brown (manager), Harold Hobbis (trainer).

Copyright Soccer History Ltd. (Provided By: Ian Nannestad).
Not to be reproduced in whole or part without premission.

In August 1953 Trinidad/T sailed in the SS Golfito to the United Kingdom for a tour including some 14 games between 16/08/1953 and 10/10/1953.

They arrived in Southampton, England on 24/08/1953

Results:

26/08/1953 Recreation Ground, Weymouth
DORSET FA 7-3 TRINIDAD/T
Trinidad Scorers: Robert Hamel-Smith 2, Delbert Charleau (pen)

29/08/1953, Bridgewater
SOMERSET FA 0-1 TRINIDAD/T
Trinidad Scorer: Mathew Nunes
nb: Another reference indicates Carlton Hinds scored

31/08/1953, Eastville Stadium, Bristol
BRISTOL ROVERS 4-1 TRINIDAD/T
Trinidad scorer: Paul Carr

05/09/1953, Newport (Wales)
LOVELL'S ATHLETIC 2-1 TRINIDAD/T
Trinidad scorer: Horace Lovelace

10/09/1953, Barnstaple
BARNSTAPLE TOWN 2-1 TRINIDAD/T
Trinidad scorer: Shay Seymour

12/09/1953, Ilfracombe
ILFRACOMBE TOWN 1-2 TRINIDAD/T
Trinidad scorers: Carlton Lewis, Horace Lovelace
nb: Another reference indicates Carlton Hinds scored the second goal and
the score was 0-2

Trinidad also beat Ilfracombe in a limited overs cricket game:
Trinidad 153-8 (Putty Lewis 52no, Allan Joseph 29, Joey Gonzales 29, Shay Seymour 17)
Ilfracombe 87 (Harold Lovelace 5-28, Gerry Parsons 2-15)

16/09/1953, Exeter, St Jame's Park
EXETER CITY 1-1 TRINIDAD/T
Trinidad scorer: Paul Carr

19/09/1953, Torquay, Plainmoor
TORQUAY UNITED 0-4 TRINIDAD/T
Trinidad scorers: Shay Seymour 2, Mathew Nunes, Robert Hamel-Smith

23/09/1953, Plymouth, Home Park
PLYMOUTH ARGYLE 3-0 TRINIDAD/T

26/09/1953, St. Austell
CORNWALL FA 3-6 TRINIDAD/T
Trinidad scorers: Paul Carr 3, Carlton Hinds 2, Mathew Nunes

30/09/1953, Falmouth
CORNWALL FA 2-4 TRINIDAD/T
Trinidad scorers: John Atwell, Rex Burnett, Shay Seymour, Carlton Hinds

03/10/1953, Penzance, Penlee Park
CORNWALL FA 1-1 TRINIDAD/T
Trinidad scorer: Shay Seymour

07/10/1953, London, Selhurst Park
CORINTHIAN LEAGUE XI 4-2 TRINIDAD/T
Trinidad scorers: Mathew Nunes, Delbert Charleau (pen)

10/10/1953, London, Plough Lane
FA AMATEUR XI 2-2 TRINIDAD/T
Trinidad scorers: Mathew Nunes, Shay Seymour.

Prepared and maintained by Barrie Courtney for the Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation.

A Brief History of TnT Football.

The Trinidad and Tobago Football Association was formed on July 23rd, 1908. In the years following the establishment of the TTFA, local infrastructure limitations hindered the growth and development of the game throughout the islands. The poor road network meant that football was restricted to the major urban areas in the north and south of Trinidad. Expatriate workers who taught the game to locals played the game in the oilfields. There was no national team (since Trinidad and Tobago was a British colony), but there was a senior team that represented the colony and played against other teams.

After Independence in 1962, the TTFA was affiliated with FIFA and its confederate member, Concacaf. The growth of the game in TnT kept pace with the development of the national and local leagues which were established at the youth and senior levels, with a secondary schools league being introduced in the 1980's. By the late 80's football was the number one national game, with a following encouraged by the nation's near qualification for the 1974 World Cup, and encouraged by the performances of the national team on the road to Italia 1990.

There is now the professional football league, the FA Cup, national and regional amateur leagues, youth leagues, and the secondary schools league. The 1990's also saw the ascendance of Trinidad and Tobago to a position of dominance (shared with Jamaica) in Caribbean football, and an ever-increasing number of local players finding positions in clubs in Europe and North America.

1994 was a most significant year in the history of the Association. A new constitution was developed and approved, under which the membership would no longer be individual clubs, but the bodies representing the Leagues in which they were participating. Accordingly, the major members of the Association are the six Regional Associations into which the country is divided. The Secondary Schools Football League, the Primary Schools Football League and the Women's Football League. The other two members are the important support associations for coaches and referees. On September 13, 1998, the name of the Association was officially changed to The Trinidad and Tobago Football Federation, and a revised corporate logo was adopted.