The United States has been named as the host of the Confederation of North, Central America and Caribbean Association Football (CONCACAF) qualifying tournament for the Rio 2016 Olympic Games.

The under-23 competition, which is due to take place from October 1 to 13 this year, will see eight nations battling for the two tops spots that will automatically grant places at Rio 2016, where they will be hoping to repeat the success of CONCACAF nation Mexico, who claimed the gold medal at London 2012.

The third placed country will also earn the right to face South American Olympic qualifying runner-up Colombia in a playoff for one additional spot at the Games in Brazil.

"The Olympic Qualifying Championship provides an ideal stage for CONCACAF nations to demonstrate the bright future the Confederation holds on the field," Jeffrey Webb, President of CONCACAF, said.

"We look forward to some great soccer as the competing nations strive to match our historic Olympic performances three years ago in England, from Honduras and, of course, Mexico 2012 Olympic champion."

The tournament will divide the teams, which comprise hosts the US, Canada, Mexico, three nations from the Central American region and two from the Caribbean - to be decided in the coming months, into two groups of four, with the top two finishers in each group after round-robin play advancing to the semi-finals.

"We are looking forward to hosting the Olympic Qualifying Championship and showcasing the quality of soccer in the region," said US Soccer President Sunil Gulati.

"The Olympics hold a special place in the hearts of all Americans and this is a great opportunity to see these young athletes from across North, Central America and the Caribbean compete for the opportunity to reach their goal of playing in the Olympic Games."

Details of host venues, ticketing information and the competition schedule will be announced following the qualifying tournaments in Central America and the Caribbean.

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The Trinidad and Tobago Olympic Committee(TTOC) vision is for two Trinidad and Tobago team sports to qualifying for the Olympic Games by the year 2024.

To date no Trinidad and Tobago national team has ever qualified for a Summer Olympic Games.

The TTOC intends to convince  national sport organizations (NSOs) responsible for team sports to include Olympic qualification as a critical aspect of their (NSOs) long term strategic and development  plan.

A sport on the TTOC's Olympic qualification radar is football.

The TTOC believes that a serious effort by the Trinidad and Tobago Football Association(TTFA)  to qualify a national football team for the Olympic Games  can only benefit  T&T football .

In respect of the Rio 2016 Olympic Games three national team sports in contention for possible Olympic qualification are football, hockey and rugby 7s.

Photo caption: TTOC President Brian Lewis and Hazel Mootoo, Human Resource Manager Deloitte Touche  (T&T) at a recent #10golds24 cheque presentation

We as Trinbagonians don’t understand and appreciate the power of Carnival, and sport. Our Carnival history, traditions and heritage make Trinidad and Tobago Carnival unique and authentic.

The longtime brass melody that Machel Montano used in his runaway smash hit Like Ah Boss marries the old and the new in an infectious Carnival 2015 soca smash hit.

It is a powerful example of the positive results that can occur with the marriage between the traditional and contemporary. The old need not be discarded and can be relevant to contemporary Trinidad and Tobago society.

Trinidad and Tobago Carnival as I understood it growing up in Belmont—or Freetown—for those with a historical reference point has deep historical and cultural significance.

Prior to emancipation slaves were forbidden from participating in carnival celebrations. When slavery came to an end, the liberated slaves took their mas to the streets to celebrate their freedom. Carnival was used to make subtle and not so subtle statements. So there was an element of cultural and artistic tension between the bourgeoisie—the word now used in the contemporary Trinidad and Tobago is stoosh—and the grassroots.

Carnival is in danger of becoming a means to an end and the divide grows between the traditional and pretty mas, the cultural entrepreneurs and the profit seekers.

The challenge we face is embracing the tension between tradition and contemporary. In the sport space the country is facing the very same issues and challenges.

That we don’t seem to be able to harness the diverse energies is part of our learning and evolution as a people, nation and society.

People get defensive and take things personal when you ask the questions that need to be asked.

One such question is why must our elite athletes leave home during Carnival so as not to negatively impact their training programme?

Today I will walk around Port-of-Spain and take in the celebrations. Last year I was out of the country at the Michael Johnson Performance Centre to finalise aspects of their high performance partnership with the Trinidad and Tobago Olympic Committee. It was my intention this year to make up and play mas.

But that was before the 10 Olympic or more Olympic gold medals by 2024 #10golds24 campaign got going in earnest.

The opportunity to promote #10golds24 during carnival is one that I will embrace. Trinidad and Tobago is a world class centre for Carnival. #10golds24 mission is for Trinidad and Tobago to become a world class centre for Olympic sports.

Like Carnival and the respective Carnival monarch winners. The athletes may be on the front line but achieving Olympic success is very much a team effort.

Each athlete or team is supported by a multi-disciplinary team.

Preparing takes many years and planning and it’s the attention to detail that produces the excellence and puts our athletes and teams in a position to compete for Olympic medals.

Olympic sports are a people business and the relationships are important. In a fraction of second results are determined. Everyone is under pressure.

There is a lot of adrenalin flowing. Keeping a cool head is vital when the heat is on.

There is an army of people who work behind the scenes to produce the moment when our athletes and teams mount the podium.

Sport is no different to Trinidad and Tobago Carnival. We have world class talent and potential. Like Carnival sport can put Trinidad and Tobago on the world map in a positive way.

Support the Olympic dream. Make your donations to the #10golds24 Athlete Welfare and Preparation Fund at any branch of Scotia Bank Ac# 171188.

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One must acknowledge and congratulate the efforts of the Queens Park Cricket Club and their sponsors for hosting the Sporting Heroes Reunion Brunch Lime.

First held in 2011 the  annual reunion brings together current and former sportsmen and sports women and is held on Carnival Sunday at the Queens Park Oval.

It was fantastic to see current sporting heroes such as Roger Daniel and Keiron Pollard taking  timeout from their busy schedule to attend.

Its a great idea and gesture and  an event that all national sport organizations and national governing bodies should support.

I thank Queens Park Cricket Club President Deryck Murray for his invitation and consider it a privilege and an honour  to be in the presence of so many past greats of Trinidad and Tobago Sport including Olympians and Olympic , CAC and Commonwealth medalists.

Time well spent. Thank you Queens Park Cricket Club. Well done.

Azim Bassarath, president of the Trinidad and Tobago Cricket Board (TTCB) believes their will be no tangible benefit to local cricket from this country hosting seven matches in the upcoming Caribbean Premier League (CPL).

In a media release, Bassarath also argued that the US $4.2 million gifted to the foreign owners of the regional competition could be better spent on supporting home grown talent.

Bassarath also expressed his displeasure at the treatment meted out by the CPL organisers who last week launched the 2015 edition of the tournament in Port-of-Spain but left out the local board.

“It was yet another demonstration of the lack of respect that the CPL has for regional cricket boards who are responsible for the growth and development of the local game yet are locked out of all that they have to offer,” said Bassarath.

He said over the past four years, the TTCB faced an uphill battle to access funds earmarked by the Government for cricket development and assistance of the national senior team.

Bassarath said the TTCB recently met with new Minister of Sport Brent Sancho and was pleased with the way the discussions went insisting that the national cricket organisation has not been going to Government “cap in hand”.

“We have a track record of accountability and transparency and won the ‘Best Sports Administration of the Year’ award on several occasions. What we have been making representation for is what was promised us and which we believe we deserve,” said Bassarath. He said that over the past several years TT cricket has put the country on the international map as local players have excelled on the international stage for both their country and overseas franchises.

Bassarath said this has been achieved while more than TT $24 million in funds due to the organisation for national development and preparation of the TT Red Force for the Champions League T20 tournament for four years has as yet remained unpaid.

He said that it was a slap in the face of the local game and its administrators for taxpayers’ money to be funnelled to foreign investors who are exploiting the skills and talent of a legion of local cricketers nurtured and cultivated by the TTCB.

Bassarath said he remembered clearly at the launch of the CPL that the investors publicly stated that they would not be approaching regional governments for funding to stage their competition.

“It was stated then that their sponsors for the six teams will come from India and we were all persuaded that this would be the case which has turned out to be not true at all. Regional cricket boards are the ones being done a great disservice,” Bassarath fumed.

He also made reference to a proposal that the TTCB made to the previous Minister of Sport Dr Rupert Griffith requesting assistance for 191 clubs who participate at all levels of the local game.

The expected cost of the exercise was close to TT $5 million per season and this would have covered the most important aspects of enabling the teams to participate in competitions and help strengthen the clubs at the grassroots level.

“We are hoping that the new Minister will take up this initiative as it will impact 191 communities in Trinidad and Tobago and the benefits will be innumerable not transient and miniscule like what the CPL promises,” said Bassarath.

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FIFA Development Officer Howard McIntosh paid a visit to this country on Friday during which time he attended meetings with officials of the Trinidad and Tobago Football Association and the Minister of Sport Brent Sancho.

McIntosh described the meetings as significant and expressed his satisfaction with the outcome of the discussions with the Sports Minister which he said augurs well for the future of the local game and the relationships among the various parties including FIFA, CONCACAF, the TTFA and the Government.

“We are very happy to meet the new Minister of Sport. It’s greater see one of our world class players from the Caribbean going on to become a Minister and we are proud of that fact. We took the opportunity to discuss the Goal Project, and other programmes and the possibilities of collaboration between the TTFA and the Government and of course FIFA and CONCACAF,” McIntosh said.

He revealed that Sancho was supportive of the establishment of the National Training Centre in Marabella, close to the Manny Ramjohn Stadium and efforts are ongoing to have the land provided for the construction of the facility.

“The Minister is very supportive of the efforts. We are going to work together to see what can be done very quickly with the Goal Project being one of the immediate initiatives and looking at possible collaborations with community-type activities along with the grassroots and women’s programmes,” McIntosh said. “The Minister confirmed in the meeting the immediate need to have a national technical centre and he understands it especially with his background and that’s a very positive sign for us.

What we have to do now is to ensure that whatever information he needs to get the Goal Project situation dealt with, he gets it so that we can move forward,” he added.

Sancho described the initiative and the partnership with the TTFA as “exciting” and said he was pleased with the way the discussions went on Friday.

“The Goal project is an exciting initiative not just for the development of football locally but across the region. It will create local employment during the construction phases as well as when the facility becomes fully operational. The sectors that will be engaged will run the gambit from athlete support services, hospitality, facilities management and even transportation services,” Sancho stated.

The minister, a former National footballer, did emphasise that it was important that the TTFA continued its efforts to ensure accountability and transparency, particularly during this Goal Project initiative.

“While the potential of the Goal Project is extremely exciting we must continue to ensure that there is accountability and transparency in all transactions involving State funds and resources” FIFA Development officer Gregory Englebrecht, during a two-day visit to Trinidad and Tobago last August, met with officials of the TTFA and made site visits to the potential location for a National Football Training Centre in Marabella, near to the Manny Ramjohn Stadium.

Englebrecht, who is a senior manager for development for the Americas, stated that FIFA approved funding to the tune of US$500,000 for the establishment of a National Training Centre through the FIFA Goal Project.

Englebrecht stated that the funding would be accessible by the TTFA once the association can enter into a lease agreement with the Government for use of the property.

“FIFA makes available US$500,000 which can be invested into the project. We have certain conditions and one of them is that the property has to be a lease agreement, usually with Government, for use of the property for a minimum of 25-30 years so that it can be developed and that it will benefit football in the country for a long period.

“The location is close to the Manny Ramjohn Stadium which is a quite a large area with capacity for four to five fields. This is very good and if the TTFA can coordinate with the Government all the arrangements and paperwork necessary to get access to this area, then we can help them develop it into a very useful modern facility for Trinidad and Tobago football,” Englebrecht stated.

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