The T&T football teams will have a new football kit, courtesy of Miami-based sportswear company- BOL, a company formed by the combined efforts of businessmen Eduardo Acordi, Marco Gandelman, and Tiago Pinto.
BOL will design fresh kits for T&T as part of a two-year partnership deal between the Miami-based sports brand and the T&T Football Association (TTFA), the brand announced on Thursday.
A release of the deal stated that the apparel brand will begin its process of creating new art-inspired kits that will be released in June to help elevate the Caribbean nation to the next level during the Qatar 2022 FIFA World Cup qualifiers.
Chairman of the FIFA-appointed Normalisation Committee Robert Hadad told Guardian Media Sports a couple of months ago that his committee had been in talks with a few sportswear companies inclusive of Adidas, Puma, Joma, and a new unknown company at the time, all with a view of securing a new kit deal in the wake of the disastrous Avec Sports deal which never materialised.
In January, the Normalisation Committee avoided a legal battle with Avec Sports after the four-year deal went sour due to the TTFA's inability to honour its part of the agreement with the UK firm. Guardian Media Sports was told that Avec had already begun preparing the kits for the TTFA, hence the reason for the expected legal battle.
Hadad though in January, intervened by settling with Avec Sports for a meagre $15,000 pounds.
Hadad, in response to the deal, said in the release: "The T&T Football Association believes that this new partnership with BOL Football is a great strategic alliance and opportunity. We look forward to working together to develop products that resonate with the hearts of the players, staff, fans and all Trinbagonians."
The value of the deal as well as exactly how the country will benefit from the agreement are unknown, as calls to Hadad's cellphone went unanswered all of yesterday.
Meanwhile, Pinto, a former Nike executive and co-founder of BOL, in a release said: "We want our new kits to exude the confidence, strength and bravery of this team. We believe in celebrating the beautiful game and our hope is supporters around the world will find that same joy through our apparel designs.”
The T&T team has been delicately poised in Group F of the qualifiers, sitting in second position with four points, while St Kitts and Nevis leads with six points, with only the top team expected to advance to the second round of the qualifiers. The other teams in the group are Bahamas, Puerto Rico and Guyana.
According to the release: "T&T joined CONCACAF and FIFA nearly 70 years ago. Since then their men’s national team has become a top team in the region, qualifying for a World Cup, winning eight Caribbean Cups and finishing third in one Gold Cup.
"Their youth teams have qualified for two FIFA Under-20 World Cups and a FIFA U-17 World Cup. They have also hosted a FIFA Men's and Women's U-17 World Cup."
BOL unveiled distinctly designed jerseys for another Caribbean island nation, Montserrat, last month as the brand continues its mission to share the emotional journeys of men’s, women’s and youth teams that aren’t typically showcased on the international stage.
BOL will equally incentivise T&T for the performance achievements of both the men’s and women’s national teams in order to recognise TTFA's efforts and vision for the future of all.
An extensive annual product collection will be provided au gratis and the deal will also include a revenue sharing program for team-branded products sold around the world.
Gameday, training, and goalkeeper jerseys will be available for purchase after the new jerseys are released this summer on BOL’s official site. For more information, visit bolfootball.com, @bolfootball on Twitter or @bol.football on Instagram.
