Former national senior team captain and Under-17 World Championship player Kenwyne Jones has been appointed head coach of the senior women’s national team.
This was announced on Friday via a media release from the Trinidad and Tobago Football Association (TTFA).
Jones, 37, who took on the role of interim senior women’s coach from October 18 to November 30, will now assume full-time responsibility for the team, commencing Wednesday (December 1) with a nine-month contract that provides him the option to extend his term for a further year, based on the achievement of KPI’s and a successful performance appraisal.
Commenting on his appointment, Jones a native of La Brea, said: "I’m extremely grateful for the opportunity to continue to work with the staff and players, proud to continue serving my country, and I look forward to helping push the women’s game forward.”
According to the release, the TTFA’s decision to appoint Jones follows solid 0-0 and 1-1 performances against Panama at the Ato Boldon Stadium, Couva in October, the positive atmosphere that he has created within the team, and the improved dynamic between the players and technical staff.
Normalisation Committee chairman Robert Hadad said: “Kenwyne has done a really good job with the team during his short stint, as was demonstrated on the field against Panama. We had a meeting with him and he was excited with the prospect of continuing his work with the players. I believe the players are equally excited. We have agreed on clear performance targets, which we all hope will be achieved.”
A UEFA A Licence holder, Jones, a graduate of St Anthony's College, will now take the team into the 2022 CONCACAF W Qualifiers, with games against Nicaragua on February 17, Dominica on February 20, the Turks and Caicos on April 9, and Guyana on April 12, 2022. The top placed team in the group will qualify to compete in the 2022 CONCACAF W Championships in July 2022.
In preparation for the qualifiers, the national women’s team will participate in two friendly international matches versus the Dominican Republic yesterday (November 26), and on November 30 in San Cristobal, Dominican Republic.
Jones, a four-time T&T Footballer of the Year, enjoyed a long professional career with clubs in the T&T Pro League like Joe Public, W Connection, Central FC, the English Premiership, and Championships Divisions, the US MLS, and in the United Arab Emirates. He was an assistant coach to former award and title-winning coach Nigel "Grovy) Grosvenor during a stint at Queen's Royal College (QRC) in the Secondary Schools Football League (SSFL) in 2018.