Jones wants Women Warriors to aim for pro careers

KENWYNE Jones, coach of the Trinidad and Tobago women’s football team, wants the majority of the players in the current squad to continue to strive towards professional career.

Jones was speaking at the post-game media conference on Monday, after TT’s final round match in Group B of the Concacaf W Championship in Mexico.

TT lost all three of their games in Group B – 6-0 to Canada (July 5), 4-0 to Costa Rica (July 8) and 1-0 to Panama (on Monday).

Jones, the former TT men’s team striker and captain, said, “For the team, I hope that the building process for them continues to go on.

“This team’s average age is 23, most of our players play at universities. The gap between university football and international football is a huge one. Most of the people that we play against (are) professional players.

“Hopefully they can continue to grow (and) more of our players can end up playing professionally,” Jones added.

Marta Cox scored in the 43rd minute to give Panama the win, and a third-place finish in the group. Panama will now focus on the 2023 FIFA World Cup inter-confederation play-offs while TT will return home without gaining a point or scoring a goal in Group B.

Asked his views on the Panama match, Jones replied, “If we were just a bit more positive in continuing to move the ball from midfield and getting into the attack, we would have had better chances. It’s unfortunate, not being able to win the game hurts but the team has to take the experience, learn from it and grow.”