Trinidad and Tobago, Guyana, Barbados to feature in Courts Caribbean Classic

INTERNATIONAL men’s football makes a welcome return to Trinidad and Tobago on Friday as the Hasely Crawford Stadium in Mucurapo gears up to host the opening match of the Courts Caribbean Classic.

The tri-nation tournament features hosts TT and regional rivals Guyana and Barbados. All three men’s teams have present and past TT coaches at the helm – Angus Eve (TT), Jamaal Shabaaz (Guyana) and Russell Latapy (Barbados) respectively.

Eve’s men will play their first international friendly at home in just over two years, owing to the pandemic, against Barbados on Friday and then on Guyana on March 29.

Barbados and Guyana will face each other on March 27. All matches will kick off at 7 pm and will be accessible to fully vaccinated patrons only. The TT Football Association (TTFA) will announce ticketing details this week.

TT’s last international friendly at home was played on November 11, 2019, which was a 15-0 win over Anguilla at the Ato Boldon Stadium in Couva.

The TT team’s previous encounter at the Hasely Crawford Stadium was a 2-0 defeat to Honduras in Concacaf Nations League qualifying on October 10, 2019.

In March 2021, TT defeated Guyana 3-0 in a World Cup qualifier in San Cristobal. Prior to that, they beat Barbados previously 2-0 in a friendly at the Ato Boldon Stadium on March 10, 2017.

Eve welcomed a restart to hosting international games on local soil.

“This is a perfect opportunity for us. This will be the first time I will actually have the majority of the team that I want to have and play the style of football that I actually want to play with them," he said, in a TTFA media release.

“Unfortunately we still could not get a couple guys because they had club commitments and we rather sacrifice them now and have them for the Nations League. I think we have gotten the core of the team that we want to work with and will try to express ourselves going forward in these two friendlies,” he said.

Eve continued, “These are three past TT coaches at the helm. I played with Russell all my life. I worked with Jamaal Shabazz, I played under him and these are two guys who I respect a lot and are doing great things with their teams in the Caribbean.

“They want to win the games just as we do. They are looking to develop their programmes just as we do. Both teams have a cadre of English-based players. No longer can you just look at the name of the team that you are playing but you also have to look at the calliber of players in the squad. It will not be an easy game for us and that’s what we want.

“We want to re-establish ourselves in the Caribbean and by extension in Concacaf. Also playing at home is massive for us. We would love to actually see the people in the stands and see the team play live.”

The TT coach added that a lot of fans do not know the men's team too well and sees this tournament as an opportunity for them to see the team and the work they’ve been doing.

Eve also thanked sponsors Courts, the TT government and the various stakeholders who came together to make this series possible.