Warriors still waiting on $$

Warner, a vice president of FIFA, football’s world governing body, also disclosed he had taken out another mortgage on his property to help meet team expenses.

The president of the Caribbean Football Union and CONCACAF stated that the TT Government’s only contribution to the Soca Warriors was a little over US $250,000 for a qualifying match two years ago and US $1 million for a chartered flight to Bahrain last November.

“No country in the world ever qualified for a World Cup on that kind of budget,” Warner yesterday told senior Caribbean sports journalists attending a symposium entitled Thinking Sport at the Cascadia in St Ann’s.

“On Wednesday, I took out another mortgage on my property to pay some bills for the team and to pay the officials by April 30.”

Warner was speaking on the topic, “Faith Can Move Mountains! Did It Move The Soca Warriors”, during the opening session of the symposium. He noted that an initial down payment of close to US $130,000 for the team’s hotel became due last week, and another payment of close to US $170,000 for the accommodation was requested two days ago.

Warner added that another US $250,000 is to be paid to team officials by next week, and all these payments were coming at a personal cost to him.

“I took out a mortgage to pay these bills because all the money I have received for the team is about two years ago — TT $1.6 million for a qualifying match, and in November, TT $6 million for a charter flight,” he said.

“To this day, not a single cent from Government and there are 50 days before the first match. I say no more.”

Warner, a deputy leader of TT’s opposition United National Congress, said it was crucial that the national team arrive in Germany with everything necessary for success.

“You can’t ask the team to perform, and perform well, if they are not given at least the basic requirements to perform,” he said.

“I had to demonstrate my faith in them and that is why all of them are coming back 20 days before. All of them have been paid already. This was a demonstration of faith.” TT became the second nation from the English-speaking Caribbean to qualify for a FIFA World Cup Finals last year, and now hold the distinction of being the country with the smallest population to make this achievement in the history of the tournament.

TT face Sweden on June 10 in Dortmund, England on June 5 in Nuremberg, and Paraguay on June 20 in Kaiserslautern in Group “B” of the World Cup Finals.

Warner outlined that he was showing faith by predicting the Soca Warriors would reach the second round.