T&T defender Sheldon Bateau is all set to begin his professional life in Russia after joining Premier League club FC Krylia Sovetov earlier this month.
And he is hopeful that his entry into Russia is just the first from the T&T squad with all sights set on qualification for the 2018 FIFA World Cup.
"Who knows, maybe this is a sign of what is to come for T&T in 2018," Bateau said. "Pretty soon we will embark on the qualification for Russia and our main focus now as a national team is getting through the qualification and getting to Russia," he said.
The 24-year-old Bateau spent close to three years with Belgian Pro League club KV Mechelen, breaking into the T&T senior team during that time and establishing himself as a starting player for the "Soca Warriors". His performances during the recent CONCACAF Gold Cup was proof of his progress.
Now he's hoping to continue his rise in Russia.
"I feel optimistic about this move to Russia. It was a decision I made based on the situation at my last club concerning playing time and I did it with the World Cup qualifiers in my mind because it was difficult for me to keep in shape for the recently concluded Gold Cup after being on the bench for about three months or more and at this point in my career playing time is very important," Bateau said on Tuesday.
"The coach of Sovetov was the coach of Mechelen the season before last but just for a few months so he knows my qualities and also he believes I have what it takes to play at a high level and I think that is always a plus to have a coach that has confidence in you."
Attractive winnings for CGN TTFA Super League
There will be attractive prizes at stage for clubs and players participating in the CNG TTFA National Super League Premiership and Championship Divisions this season. At the recent launch where it was announced that NGC CNG would sponsor the league for the 2015/2016 season to the tune of $1.2 million, a break down of the prize structure was also revealed.
The winning club in the Premiership Division will receive $240,000, the runner up $120,000 and third place finishers $100,000 and fourth place $80,000.
For the Championship Division, the champion team will take away $140,000, runner up $100,000, third place $80,000 and fourth place $60,000. The Knockout competition will offer $100,000 for the winner, $50,000 for the runner up and $25,000 for the losing semi-finalists. There will also be incentives for players as the Premiership will see the Most Valuable Player taking home $5,000 and the five players of the year receiving $2,500 each. The Championship Division "MVP" will receive $3,000 and the five top players will get $1,500 each
NGC CNG President Curtis Mohammed, said his company was thrilled to be part of the Super League.
Mexico's Televisa to film documentary in T&T
Mexican television station Televisa Deportes will have a crew in Port-of-Spain next week to record a documentary on football in T&T ahead of the September 4 international friendly between the Soca Warriors and Mexico in Utah.
Mexico and T&T has a long rivalry and recent string of impressive performances by T&T, in particular the 4-4 draw with El Tri at the CONCACAF Gold Cup has brought much interest to T&T.
Among those Televisa will feature include Everald "Gally" Cummings, Steve David, Clayton Ince, Stern John, Angus Eve, Dwight Yorke, Russell Latapy and TTFA president Raymond Tim Kee. The interviews will be conducted by Alberto Lati, a journalist and writer who has interviewed characters such as Dalai Lama, Madonna, Usain Bolt, Michael Phelps, Cristiano Ronaldo, Michael Schumacher and Roger Federer.
The documentary will be aired to millions of viewers through Televisa's main platforms in Mexico, Latin America, United States and Canada.
T&T teen savours Dana Cup experience
Local teenager Misael Mohammed recently competed in the famous Dana Cup in Denmark with the Ordin FC Under-15 team of Sao Paolo, Brazil. The Dana Cup is one of the world's largest youth tournaments held in the town of Hjorring with close to 200 teams from around the world competing every July. Ordin FC finished third in the U-15 Boys category which had 178 teams competing.
Mohammed, a member of the T&T Football 7 Academy in Trincity of which Stern John is the head coach, is also a student of Maple Leaf International School in Port of Spain. He described the experience as out of this world, also participating in the Gothia Cup in Sweden last month.
"It was a really great experience to be able to participate in such a huge tournament. The Ordin team comes from Brazil but I was well accepted and I was able to broaden my knowledge and experience in the game. We learnt more about the European game style and a lot about the different cultures because of the amount of players that gathered from different countries. It was a truly fulfilling experience. And I was able to share some knowledge on T&T and several persons knew about the country which was quite a good thing to note," Mohammed said.
n Shaun Fuentes is the Director of Communications for the TTFA � shaunfuentes@yahoo.com