DESPITE the unexpected sacking of arguably Trinidad and Tobago's best senior men's football coach in the past eight years, TT Football Association (TTFA) president Kieron Edwards has called for all hands on deck as they chase 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification.
Edwards's remarks came on the heels of the executive's decision to cut ties with head coach Angus Eve on July 31, after almost three years of him more or less resuscitating the Soca Warriors's competitive spirit on the regional stage.
The reason for Eve's axing was that the TTFA executive wanted a 'different pathway' for World Cup qualification.
With a caretaker coach set to be named within the coming week, Edwards wants every stakeholder on board as they seek to smoothly transition away from Eve's World Cup plan, to someone who shares a similar ideology to theirs.
Edwards called on the TT government, corporate TT and the public to come on board as they aim for the nation's second-ever World Cup berth.
'It's everything we do around the campaign and pathway to World Cup qualification.
'It's not just the TTFA, the Government has already committed and they are doing a tremendous job in terms of what we're doing right now and we hope to get further help from them. Corporate TT has to buy into our plans. Even the citizens of TT have to play their part,' he said.
Regarding the Government's involvement, Edwards said the TTFA has been gaining momentum towards a possible change of TT's immigration laws, which would allow foreigners whose grandparents have local lineage, a chance to rep the red, white and black.
As it stands, the law only allows foreign-based players with TT parentage a chance for selection.
Ironically, Eve was the most vocal of TT's past coaches to vouch for this progressive change, and he was fired.
The new coach, however, is set to benefit from Eve's pleas over the years since the issue has now gained support from Minister of National Security Fitzgerald Hinds and Minister of Sport and Community Development Shamfa Cudjoe-Lewis, with the former being 'very open' to facilitate the process.
'We have to do as much as we could with all of football's stakeholders to ensure we gain World Cup qualification in 2026,' Edwards said.
'It's about our pathway, not just the head coach. It's how we treat our local game, foreigners coming in. We intend to have discussions, and we started discussions with the government as well in terms of the change of law.'
If the law does change, TT's potential player pool will receive a significant boost as it opens doors to a world of new TT players. Former TT captain and Manchester United striker Dwight Yorke also shared Eve's calls for a law change since multiple other countries capitalise on inviting foreign players whose grandparents have local lineage.
Even supporters were asked to come on board and support the TTFA as they chase qualification for a World Cup which will not only be held close by in the western hemisphere (USA, Canada, Mexico), but has also been expanded to 48 com
