00:00Money has played a big part in keeping sport alive, and it came to the rescue once again out of
00:06the purse of the government.
00:07Taxpayers' money will be used to ease the financial burden, preventing teams from playing matches in Trinidad and Tobago.
00:15The Minister of Sport, Philip Watts, met with the President of the Secondary Schools of Football League, Mariri Gonzalez, today
00:22to break the welcoming news.
00:23We had a meeting with them, and they have now decided that they are willing to financially support the league
00:33as a start for this year to assist with the expenses, traveling expenses, for the first proposal, which means the
00:45one with the 17-teens.
00:48That is a great sigh of relief.
00:51Gonzalez says they had a backup plan, but now he says their next step is to meet with the SSFL
00:59Council.
00:59Our next move now, after having the press releases today, would be to meet with the very same General Council.
01:08That is our second highest decision-making body in the league, outside of the annual general meeting that takes place
01:17once a year.
01:18So we will meet with them on Wednesday, please go, bringing to them the offer from the Ministry of Sport
01:28and the Sport Company.
01:30There is hardly likely where the membership will not accept it.
01:34Because why?
01:35The main reason they would have voted the way they did initially, because there was an absence of finance.
01:42He added there had no intentions to marginalize Tobago teams.
01:46There is no intention, and has never been, secondary school football league to marginalize, ostracize, blackball, discriminate, or be biased
01:59in any way to schools in Tobago.
02:01There is nothing like that.
02:03We have, as one of our main objectives, the holistic approach by incorporating all the schools in Trinidad and Tobago.
02:12And when we arrive at decisions, as important as this one, all the zones, East, North, South, Central, and Tobago,
02:22have authorized representatives that are invited to attend the meetings.
02:27Following Wednesday's meeting, the attention turns to the field of play.
02:30We now have to look towards having a launch that we have at least maybe last week in this month,
02:38if not the first week in September.
02:41And then on the 11th of September, Friday, 11th, we will have our official doubleheader opening games, which will take
02:51place on, as I said, Friday, 11th, September at the Atto Bolden Stadium.
02:57Traditionally, the girls and boys, the intercal and league winners, will contest each other.
03:06Girls game at 3 p.m., boys game at 5 p.m.
03:09They battled with postponements in 2025, and now, he says, they will be stricter with how this is managed.
03:17In order to manage the finance that we have, we are going to be rather meticulous but purposeful to ensure
03:34that teams try as much as possible
03:38to travel on the same day, play a game on the same day, and return on the same day.
03:47If that is, you're unable to do it, while it could have been done, and you have to overnight, you
03:57will now have to offset any additional expenses.
04:01Sergio Dufo, TVS Export.
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