joshua.seemungal@guardian.co.tt
A group of senior national footballers competing in the Concacaf Gold Cup in the United States broke camp just hours after managing a 1-1 draw with Haiti on Thursday evening.
Guardian Media has been reliably informed that the players attended a Juneteenth Afro-Caribbean-themed party at Tikila’s Bar in Houston.
This comes in the wake of the national team’s disappointing 5-0 defeat to hosts USA on June 15, followed by their inability to secure a win against a ten-man Haitian side days later.
During a phone call yesterday, Trinidad and Tobago Football Association (TTFA) president Kieron Edwards confirmed that some members of the team attended the party.
He suggested that he did not see anything wrong with their attendance.
“It wasn’t a party. It wasn’t a party. Remember it was Juneteenth. That deals with the slaves etc, so it’s a West Indian thing. One or two persons went out. The place was supposed to close at 12. We went. We meet and greet, but it was controlled.
“Remember we had the fellas in camp in England for some weeks now, so that being a holiday, a lot of Trinis come out in Houston. The senior players get to come out, men who putting in the work a while now,” the TTFA president said.
Guardian Media understands from eyewitnesses that more than ten members of the squad attended the event.
Earlier in the day, Guardian Media sought a comment from TTFA media officer Shaun Fuentes. A response was only received after Guardian Media sent a photo that surfaced showing one of the players at the event.
As a result of their opening defeat and then subsequent draw, T&T must defeat Saudi Arabia this evening to stand a chance of advancing to the next round of the region’s most prestigious international tournament.
One partygoer, a T&T national, who saw the team’s members, said, “I can’t believe after the poor performance those fellas put down in that Haiti game, they ended up in the same party as me after the match. It’s mid-tournament. The more I think about it, the more it boggles my mind.”
According to national team sources, the practice of players breaking camp after matches—sometimes even during major tournaments—has been happening for years.
They said the party group, led by two seasoned players who previously played professionally in the United States, is known among teammates as the “Boatride Crew”.
Guardian Media’s Investigative Desk understands that experienced players opposed to the partying culture during national team camp sometimes butt heads with the “Boatride Crew”, asking them to set a better example for younger players.
In September 2016, three national team players were fined for breaking team camp two days before a World Cup qualifier in T&T against Guatemala. The players were identified by a local online publication as Kevin Molino, Joevin Jones, and Mekeil Williams.
“In all honesty, we haven’t had to deal with a situation like this before. We have had minor stuff with players breaking in-house rules. But not to the extent that they were out of the hotel,” former T&T football coach Stephen Hart said of the incident.
Earlier that year, Molino was banned from a match after breaking team camp before a Caribbean Cup clash with Martinique.
Following the incident, the TTFA sought to include a strict code of conduct in national team playing contracts.
There have been several examples of national teams expelling players from squads for breaking team camp.
In September 2024, Kosovo banished three players–Arijanet Muric, Edon Zhegrova and Florent Muslija–for partying after a 3-0 World Cup qualifying loss to Romania.
In November 2011, Chilean footballer Arturo Vidal was among a group of players fined and suspended by the Chilean FA for showing up late to national team training after a night of partying.
In June 2011, eight Mexican players were banned from Copa America after they were caught sneaking women into their hotel room.
In September 2010, two former Mexican players–Carlos Vela and Efrain Juarez–were suspended for organising a party in a hotel during international duty. Eleven other players were fined.
T&T’s football team has the opportunity to qualify for the 2026 World Cup.
With regional powerhouses USA, Canada, and Mexico automatically qualifying as hosts, T&T has a renewed opportunity to qualify for the World Cup for the first time since making history in Germany in 2006.
The team was drawn against Jamaica, Curacao and Bermuda in its final qualifying group.
The group winner qualifies for the World Cup directly, while the second place will go to a playoff.
The TTFA appointed former national team captain and Premier League legend Dwight Yorke as manager in November 2024.
According to sources close to the TTFA, Yorke and his coaching team will allegedly earn around US$1 million over their two-year contract.
The TTFA sought corporate and state assistance to cover the salary, including from the National Gas Company.
Yorke’s hiring was described by TTFA president Edwards as “a steal of a deal”, last November.
In a radio interview that month, Edwards said that Yorke’s salary was below the average wage of regional coaches.
“I’m not going to state Dwight Yorke’s salary, but it’s nowhere close to those numbers (earned by other coaches) or the US$50,000 earned by Steve McClaren (Jamaica’s head coach). What Dwight has done for T&T football, it’s not about money for him,” he said.
National football sources said, however, that some players who have represented the country in recent years have not received full match payments.
Following T&T’s draw with Haiti on Thursday, the TTFA’s Facebook page posted a highlight video with the caption, “We haven’t delivered the way we should. Too many bumps, not enough reward. Are we even a little bit pleased or satisfied? Far from it!
“But we don’t fold–we push forward. Every step is part of a bigger mission, and we’re still locked in. One team, one flag, one goal.”