Warriors still waiting on $$

The FIFA vice-president and CONCACAF boss was speaking during a media conference at the Crowne Plaza in Port-of-Spain yesterday, where the Soca Warriors benefited from a combined sum of $450,000 from Issa Nicholas Holdings, the parent company of Crowne Plaza, and the Trinidad and Tobago Electricity Commission (TTEC).

Warner described the recent announcement by the Sport Ministry of $45 million to offset the team’s World Cup cost as “an irresponsible press release”.

“We haven’t received a nickel or a letter to take to the bank so we can take a loan,” Warner said.

He said on Sunday last, the Local Organising Committee (LOC) held a meeting to decide a fee of $6 million towards the monthly payment of the technical staff, players and officials.

The TTFF initially requested $72 million to cover the team’s expenditure before and during the June 9-July 9 World Cup in Germany.

“This figure was reached after a series [of] meetings with the ministry and auditors, but they cut it down to $45 million,” he revealed. “Nobody in the TTFF knows what the money is for, and when.”

And Warner, the deputy political leader of the United National Congress (UNC), said his political allegiance should not be used to punish the footballers.

Noting that captain Dwight Yorke will be returning home on May 3 for personal business, ahead of the May 10 friendly international against Peru, Warner said that the players will not have a financial sense of insecurity in Germany.

“It is false propaganda that money has been given to the team,” Warner added.

He also revealed that the Peru encounter will have Jamaican Peter Pendergast as the referee and another World Cup-bound official, Trinidad’s Joseph Taylor, as one of the assistant referees.

The two teams will stay at Crowne Plaza, according to Warner, while every president of the CONCACAF region will be in attendance.

Media personnel from 66 countries will be covering the match, including reporters from BBC, Sky Sports, Euro Sport, Transworld International and ITV.

There will also be journalists from the Netherlands, Spain, Sweden and China for the match.

Warner added that FIFA made it clear that each of the 32 World Cup teams will be allowed to carry five extra players to the tournament, but at the cost of the respective footballing federations.