Host Broadcast Services' (HBS) Mark Tomkins, the man whose voice is being heard around the world on television monitors as he commentates on the matches of the Fifa Women's Under 17 World Cup, has given a thumbs to T&T on its staging of the event thus far. Tomkins has an impressive portfolio, as he regularly commentates for Chelsea, Arsenal, Manchester City and Tottenham Hotspur TV in England and has commentated for HBS at the 2009 Fifa Under 17 Men's World Cup in Nigeria and Under 20 Men's World Cup in Egypt. According to Tomkins :"I think it has been a very good tournament so far, the standard of the football has been very good and the organisation has been excellent. The stadiums are very nice and compact and we saw great atmospheres at the Trinidad and Tobago matches.
The last thing you want is to play in front of empty stadiums," Tompkins said as he prepared himself to do commentary on the Nigeria versus South Korea quarter final match at the Mannie Ramjohn Stadium yesterday. He also made special mention of the conditions of the playing surfaces at the stadia. "The pitches have been fantastic. We had about four inches of rain in Manny Ramjohn last week and the pitch still played perfectly, so there has to be credit for the people taking care of the pitches. "The people in this country have been fantastic as hosts and the welcome has been great and I think the Organising committee should be pleased about that. "The one difficult thing has been getting information on some of the players from the teams because they don't have much of a history.
As far as the general working conditions so far is, it's been good and we've been able to get the job done. There's never been a situation where it's been uncomfortable for us. We have had good coverage so far of the tournament. When you talk about Arsenal and Chelsea, obviously it's a different level and the expectations are different but the games here have been good, the pitches are the same and its 22 players on the pitch playing a good game of football which has been entertaining for everyone."
Looking at the standard of the teams, Tompkins added: "Coming into the tournament you're never too sure what to expect but I must say I have been pretty surprised with the standard of the football. There is a certain maturity and the teams have obviously been coached very well. Sometimes you do actually forget that you are watching under 17 women's football. The Asian teams are very organised, the Africans like Nigeria have been very physical and strong and then you have the fire power from teams like Germany and Spain and of course also good football from the likes of T&T and Canada."