TTFF RELEASE- World Cup Qualifier set for Marvin Lee Stadium

World Cup Qualifier set for Marvin Lee Stadium

Issued by Shaun Fuentes, TTFF Media Officer, June 10, 2008

 

The Trinidad and Tobago Football Federation wishes to advise that the 2010 FIFA World Cup Qualifying match between Trinidad and Tobago and Bermuda is scheduled to take place at the Marvin Lee Stadium, Macoya on Sunday June 15, 2008 at 5:30pm.

This and other matters were confirmed at a meeting of the 2010 Local Organizing Committee on Tuesday.

 

The TTFF wishes to state that the Marvin Lee Stadium also has been granted the approval of the FIFA for the match and any other World Cup Qualifier since the playing surface, the best in the Caribbean, is a 2-star facility consistent with what is used for the UEFA Champions League.

 

Tickets for Sunday’s match have been priced at $300 for covered stands and $200 for uncovered. Tickets will go on sale on match day at the match venue and at Harvard’s compound in Port of Spain from 9 am. The public is also advised that seating accommodation at the venue has also been increased to up to 6,000.

 

Chairman of the LOC  Jack Warner said the game will go on at the venue which was also used in Saturday’s 1-1 draw with Jamaica.

 

“The game will go on at the Marvin Lee Stadium which I repeat has been approved by FIFA. This same venue has been used in the past for other FIFA Qualifying matches and will host the best Women Teams of the CONCACAF later this year. And if it comes to that, then we will host other World Cup qualifying matches for our 2010 campaign at that same venue,” Warner said.

“There were several innovations including the placement of bleachers in strategic locations to seat more patrons; the post-match festivities; the new parking and gate provisions, just to name a few. 

 “Many of these innovations, represented to me, the possibilities for not just friendly encounters but even World Cup Qualifiers, especially in light of the challenges we now find ourselves facing with regard to the use of the Hasely Crawford National Stadium and other government-managed sporting facilities,” Warner, currently in Nigeria for FIFA Stadium inspections, further stated in a correspondent to the rest of the LOC.

The Bermuda team arrives here on Thursday night and will train on Friday and Saturday at the match venue.

The T&T team meantime, under head coach Francisco Maturana resumed training on Tuesday afternoon at the Larry Gomes Stadium

 

The match officials for Sunday’s encounter are as follows:

Referee: Cordero Quesada (Costa Rica), Assistant Referee 1: Carballo Ramirez (Costa Rica), Assistant Referee 2: Barrantes Azofeifa (Costa Rica), Fourth Official: Alvarado Cruz (Costa Rica), Referee Assessor: Jose Carlos Cardoza Ortiz  (El Salvador) and the match commissioner is Jamaica’s Anthony James.

 

T&T team prepares for Bermuda

 

National Team head coach Francisco Maturana maintains that his team will not underestimate the Bermudans and he intends to prepare his team to secure a favorable results at all costs.

 

“We have to get an early advantage and that means that the best squad of players we have available will face Bermuda and we will go for an outright win in this first game. The players have received the message and they know that in World Cup qualification, you always go for the best result regardless of who you are playing. This is our first qualification game and we must start it the right way,” Maturana told TTFF Media.

 

Team manager David Muhammad also issued some comments, adding: “Our first World Cup Qualifier opponents are not to be underestimated by Trinidad & Tobago. After getting past the Cayman Islands earlier in the year, Bermuda have just had two consecutive 2-1 victories over Barbados this month, and they are coming in to Trinidad on a high. It is worthwhile to note that although very small, Bermuda is a very wealthy and prosperous nation, and there have been many investments and much government support afforded to their National Team. On terms of results, many may not realise that the Bermudian team on many occasions in the past have scored major victories against much greater opposition.”

 

Bermuda and Mexico have met 8 times before, of these matches Bermuda have won 3 (two of these games were 3-0 victories), they drew once, and of Mexico's 4 victories one of them came after extra time after a 1-1 result in full time. They have met Panama 3 times, and they came away with 1 win, 1 draw and 1 loss. The met El Salvador on 5 occasions and they had 2 wins, including a 4-0 victory, 1 draw and 2 losses. They beat the USA twice in 7 games including a 4-0 win, were some stats Muhammad quoted.

Last year Bermuda beat St. Kitts 4-2, in 8 meetings with Antigua they were only defeated once.  In 2 meetings with Montserrat in a home and away World Cup Qualifier they won both games 13-0 and 7-0 respectively. They also have 4 victories in 4 matches against the Bahamas and 2 victories in 2 games against The Dominican Republic. Against T&T they have played 8 times in the past and had 2 victories and 2 draws. They also drew with Venezuela in their only meeting.

 

“Clearly Bermuda is a team that has proven in the past that they can rise to the occasion against much tougher teams and even score a victory against some of the CONCACAF giants. They are definitely not to be underestimated.”