De Silva joins Icelandic club

TRINIDAD AND Tobago midfielder Sean De Silva has secured a one-year deal with Iceland First Division club Haukar FC and is expected to jet off to join his new teammates later this month.

“It’s a new venture that I’m really excited about. I really hope that I can do well there and make a name for myself,” the 29-year-old De Silva said on Friday, following a training session with the TT men’s team at the Ato Boldon Stadium, Couva.

“There was actually interest from another team over there and my representative just kind of put my name out there and Haukar FC came up with the best solution for me and the best step for my career. I should be heading out as soon as next week,” he said.

The former Queen’s Park and Central FC player added, “It’s fantastic for me and a great feeling. Sometimes it’s difficult for local players and Caribbean players in general to get out there and get into European countries and clubs to try and further their career. It’s a really exciting and huge opportunity for me to take my football to another level.”

He hopes this can make way for more local players to enter the European market.

“Hopefully I can open doors for them as well. If I do well, obviously the interest in Trinidadian and Caribbean players will grow and hopefully I can create some avenues for young upcoming players who really and truly should be playing at a higher level and should be in Europe,” De Silva, who played for Minnesota United in the North American Soccer League in 2013, continued.

On the current preparations under Dennis Lawrence as the team prepare for Wales, De Silva said, “I think the training sessions have gone pretty good. They are trying to get us up to speed in terms of the fitness and the tempo of the game and get us back to the international standard of play.

“There (are) a lot of young, really hungry players trying to make their way into the squad. The training sessions are more intense because the younger players bring little extra energy. But it’s been fantastic working with this group of players. We are growing day by day, getting accustomed to what Dennis wants us to be doing.”

De Silva has eight international appearances for TT and was a member of the TT teams at the 2007 FIFA Under-17 World Cup in South Korea and the 2009 FIFA Under-20 World Cup in Egypt.