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  • 2 years ago
He's the most recognisable name in local football...

And T&T football legend Dwight Yorke is calling on the Government to play its role in broadening the accessible pool of players for the national team by waiving the tough restrictions to gain passports....

The former Manchester United star who was in town for the legends game this weekend spoke his mind about the National team while offering support to coach Angus Eve...
Transcript
00:00 I can say this open heartedly that I feel that we are kind of stifling our opportunity to recruit players.
00:08 You see all the other countries have been able to recruit players and that's a big factor.
00:13 You've got to use, we're only a small country, we haven't got too many people to choose from.
00:17 So anybody with any type of nationality that links to Trinidad and Tobago, that play of a certain level,
00:23 that can only be a benefit to us, so why deprive that?
00:26 So that's something we need to look at. The people, the head of state, are the ones who can make those decisions.
00:33 A big statement by a big personality, identifying a big problem.
00:37 These words by TNC football legend Dwight York has cut deep into the unspoken wounds haunting the national team since his retirement.
00:45 The Soka Warriors, arguably a shadow of the 2006 team that included the likes of York, Stern John, Shaka Hislop and Russell Latipi,
00:53 has failed to reach within arm's length of such glory.
00:56 The former Manchester United star, while admitting that the conveyor belt of talent has stalled,
01:01 insists that the foundation is still in place to produce future quality.
01:05 There is so much negative coming out of the country, so the football is, as I said, it's the people's sport.
01:11 It always has been the people's sport. Let's hope that the woke up campaign is such a positive it rubs off on the younger generation.
01:18 It certainly did when I was growing up. And yeah, all right, we are probably a bit of a dying breed.
01:23 The Russell, the Shaka Hislop, the Stern John, those type of guys who had had the opportunity to play abroad.
01:30 Let's hope that it will encourage the younger boys because the foundation is there. The opportunity is even greater.
01:36 World Cup qualification begins at TNT in less than a month.
01:39 And although there has been mixed reviews about coach Eve's tenure, York is firmly behind his ex-teammate saying that he needs the support.
01:46 The fact that they, you know, as you named the hosts, there are three teams and five opportunities for us to qualify.
01:52 It's actually, I won't say easy because it's never easy, but the opportunity is really good for us.
01:58 And if we really get the government, the people, the head of states, the sponsors, the public sector, the people really invest in the football,
02:07 give back Angus and the team to try and get there, give him all the resources that he needs.
02:13 [BLANK_AUDIO]
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