Jamaal Shabazz, founder and technical director of Morvant Caledonia AIA, says the establishment of the club's home base at the Morvant Recreation Ground is an accomplishment that will set the stage for greater things coming out of the area.
Shabazz touched on the effects of the club having its home and what the presence of professional football and other events would have on the community.
"Playing at home in Morvant brings back that spirit of community that is so lacking in our everyday lives," he said.
"From a football perspective, playing in front of home fans forces a new level of accountability in performance from the players and staff. This is good for the game."
As to what impacted most on him at the opening match against San Juan Jabloteh, he said: "The things that touched me are so numerous. The fact that it was incident free, that so many people braved the rainy weather to attend and that the fans applauded at the end of the game in appreciation not just of the match but the effort to stage the game there.
"This is a signal in the short and long term that we in Morvant can become a community known for producing football again. We gave the nation Dennis Lawrence, Nevick Denoon, Anthony Streete, Stokely Mason and Devorn Jorsling just to name a few.
"Once this facility is upgraded the sky becomes the limit to what we can achieve."
Former T&T World Cup midfielder Densill Theobald also spoke in glowing terms about facility saying: "It's a great feeling to be able to play in front of the true fans of the club and seeing the joy on their faces with the opportunity to come to a facility as this and see professional football.
"This can only serve us well going forward and it brings a true sense of pride to the people of Morvant/Caledonia."
The ground has been upgraded through the efforts of the Ministry of Sport and the Morvant Caledonia club will play its role in the maintenance ongoing progress of the venue.
FIFA directorapplauds TTFA vision
"President Gianni Infantino told me you know with David, he is so passionate with football, I am so afraid to stay with him one hour because I would be willing to give the World Cup to T&T."
Those were the words of FIFA director of member associations and Development Veron Modengo-Omba when he spoke at the launch of the National Elite youth Development program last week.
Modengo-Omba said: "The FIFA President Gianni Infantino said to me 'Veron what we will do this week, the result is what the David and his board are achieving. This project of the TTFA contains similar missions of FIFA'. TTFA you have to understand that to build a house, you must not start at the roof but at the foundation.
"Your implication in this project shows you have faith and patience because the result on investment in youth football is not immediate. With TTFA, your project is the same page of FIFA vision for football development. By launching this project, the TTFA will revive the frame of grassroots in the region and we will hope that this will be contagious in the region."
James namedin NASL teamof the week
Former national defender Julius James was named on the Team of the Week in the North American Soccer League (NASL) following a couple of strong performance for the Fort Lauderdale Strikers in the past week.
The former T&T Under-20 and St Anthony's College player featured in a pair of clean sheets for the Strikers that kept the side in the postseason race. James made nine interceptions as well as winning ten duels and six tackles over the course of the the Strikers' 1-0 win over FC Edmonton in a midweek game and 2-0 win against Puerto Rico FC.
The 32-year-old James signed for Strikers earlier this year after joining the team in the Florida Cup matches versus FC Schalke 04 and Independiente Santa Fe.
James has also played with MLS teams Houston Dynamo, DC United and the Colombus Crew and NASL Carolina RailHawks. James was drafted ninth overall in 2008 by MLS side Toronto FC after college at the University of Connecticut.
Shaun Fuentes is the Director of
Communications for the TTFA. shaunfuentes@yahoo.com