President of the Association, John De Murrell explained, “It was a unanimous decision, we held a meeting. The cost of living has gone up, and in 2016 we had two consecutive increases in the price of gasoline…So we’ve been running on $5 for the last nine and a half years. So this is why we believe this is the appropriate time that we should increase our fares, so we can manage; because it’s very difficult.” De Murrell also commented on Finance Minister Colm Imbert’s statement that fuel prices may again increase in the midyear budget review. He stated that fares would not go up given that by law, taxi drivers are only allowed to increase fares every three years.

When asked how he felt the travelling public would react to the new fares, he said it would be welcomed given the number of passengers who have expressed to him and others that they (the taxi drivers) have been robbing themselves by not increasing the fares.

Ma Pau Stars and Club Sando combined for eight goals as the Stars prevailed 5-3, while San Juan Jabloteh hammered the cellar- placed Point Fortin Civic 5-1.

There was also a meeting at the Morvant Recreation Ground with hosts Morvant Caledonia United holding Defence Force to a 1-1 draw.

Club Sando, with new coach Angus Eve at the helm, took the lead in the seventh minute through Keron Cornwall but Stars evened the scores in the 25th through former national striker Jason Scotland.

Club Sando regained the lead in the 45th minute, through striker Akeem Roach, who slotted home a right-footed shot from close range, into a vacant net, after some good work on the left by midfielder Kevon Piper.

Ma Pau Stars tilted the balance in their favour with a pair of goals, early in the second half.

Scotland netted his second goal in the 48th, with a neat left-footed shot past goalkeeper Kelvin Henry after he was set up by another ex- TT player/winger Hayden Tinto.

The Club Sando backline went haywire two minutes later, as Jerrel Britto made a run down the right and picked out veteran Kerry Baptiste, who needed two efforts to bundle the ball into the back of the net. Henry and defender Trevin Latapy were both injured in the play and had to be replaced.

On the topic of replacement, there was a piece of irony in the 61st minute when Stars’ 27-yearold Neil Mitchell was brought on for 24-year-old Neil Mitchell; certainly a rare moment where two players with identical names were involved in the same team in topflight local football.

By the time that substitution was made, the scores were level at 3-3 as goalkeeper Glenroy Samuel and centre-backs Glenton Wolfe and Keryn Navarro made a mess of attempts to stop Cornwall in the box, and the ball fell to Roach to nudge home from close range.

Britto netted Stars’ fourth goal in the 79th with a shot past substitute Sando goalie Stefan Berkley after collecting a pass from Tinto.

And the younger Mitchell ended the scoring in the 86th, with a close range shot following a counter-attack.

In the earlier contest at the Ato Boldon Stadium on Sunday, Tyrone Charles notched a hat-trick as Jabloteh registered their fifth win of the season, while Point Fortin Civic were consigned to their fifth defeat in six matches.

Charles found the back of the net in the second, 55th and 80th minutes, while Jerome McIntyre (fifth) and Kennedy Hinkson (43rd) contributed one apiece. Sylvester Teesdale got the consolation item for the struggling Point Fortin outfit in the 45th.

In the Caledonia-Defence Force duel, veteran striker Devorn Jorsling converted a penalty in the 35th to put the Army-Coast Guard combination ahead, before Seon Thomas equalised for Caledonia in the seventh minute of second half stoppage time.

The Diego Martin squad needed kicks from the penalty spot to defeat Fyzabad Secondary 3-1, after the scores were locked at 2-2 at the end of regulation time.

On Thursday, in the semi-final phase, Diego Martin got the better of Signal Hill Secondary 3-1 at the St Joseph’s Convent Ground while Fyzabad pipped St Augustine Secondary 2-1 at the Holy Cross College Ground in Arima.

The lawyers representing the TTCB have asked for the hearing to be postponed to a later date. On October 21, Ramnarine and his team filed a lawsuit at the San Fernando High Court for judicial review and an injunction, seeking to stop the elections which were carded for October 22.

It was stopped by the High Court following an agreement made between the incumbent regime led by Azim Bassarath and the opposing team led by former West Indies cricketers Ramnarine and Daren Ganga.

Yesterday the TTCB requested more time before the hearing is held.

Ramnarine and his team are asking for changes in the TTCB constitution and in particular the rule allowing the incumbent Executive 12 outgoing votes in the election which they are challenging legally.

On Sunday, in the final day of action in the Shell/First Citi z e ns – s p ons o r e d Championship Division Boys Big Five, Carapichaima finished top of the standings, followed by Trinity East and Speyside.

The top three teams were guaranteed places in the 2017 Premiership contest.

Leaders Carapichaima played to a goalless draw with Speyside at the Carapichaima Ground while Trinity East defeated Malick 2-1 at Trincity.

Kishon Hackshaw (15th minute) and Nickel Orr (64th) were the goal-getters for Trinity East, while Akeem Sealy (32nd) replied for Malick.

Other Results – November 1: At Carapichaima – CARAPICHAIMA EAST (3) vs PRINCES TOWN WEST (0); At Diego Martin North Ground – MALICK (1) – Roshen Murphy 89th vs SPEYSIDE (0).

November 4: At Princes Town Ground – TRINITY EAST (3) – Kishorn Hackshaw 15th; Dwight Yorke 66th, 89th vs PRINCES TOWN WEST (0); At Barataria Oval – CARAPICHAIMA EAST (1) vs MALICK (0).

In the girls Under-10 singles final, Dookie defeated Sydney Doyle 4-1, 2-4, 14-12 to lift the crown. She then partnered Zara Ghuran in the girls U-10 doubles final to outlast Jaeda-Lee Daniel-Joseph and Doyle 5-4 (7), 4-2 for her second victory.

In the boys U-10 singles final, Zachery Byng came from a set down to defeat Jace Quashie 1-4, 4-0, 10-6. Quashie made amends in the boys U-10 doubles final, pairing Zac Permell to outplay Alex Chin and Alexander Merry 5-4 (4), 3-5, 10-7.

In the U-18 singles, both Emma- Rose Trestrail and Aidan Carter walked away with titles. Trestrail got past her doubles partner Emma Davis 7-5, 6-3, while Carter defeated Che Andrews in straight sets 6-3, 6-4.

The doubles finals in the U-14 and senior categories will be played on Saturday from 2 pm after rain ended play early on Sunday.

RESULTS: Boys Under-10 Singles Final – Zachery Byng def Jace Quashie 1-4, 4-0, 10-6

Girls U-10 Singles Final – Jordane Dookie def Sydney Doyle 4-1, 2-4, 14- 12

Boys U-12 Singles Final – Ethan Wong def Sebastian Byng 4-0, 4-2

Girls U-12 Singles Final – Cameron Wong def Charlotte Ready 5-3, 4-1

Boys U-14 Singles Final – Alijah Leslie def Alex-Jaden Durand 4-1, 4-2

Girls U-14 Singles Final – Emily Lawrence def Shauna Valentine 4-5 (4), 4-2, 13-11

Boys U-16 Singles Final – Samuel West def Edward Laquis 6-0, 6-0

Girls U-16 Singles Final – Osenyonye Nwokolo def Victoria Koylass 6-3, 6-3

Boys U-18 Singles Final – Aidan Carter def Che Andrews 6-3, 6-4

Girls U-18 Singles Final – Emma- Rose Trestrail def Emma Davis 7-5, 6-3

Boys U-10 Doubles Final – Zac Permell/ Jace Quashie def Alex Chin/Alexander Merry 5-4(4), 3-5, 10-7

Girls U-10 Doubles Final – Jordane Dookie/Zara Ghuran def Jaeda-Lee Daniel-Joseph/Sydney Doyle 5-4(7), 4-2

Boys U-12 Doubles Final – Josh Gonsalves/Saqiv Williams def Thomas Chung/Nicholas Ready 1-4, 4-1, 10-6

Girls U-12 Doubles Final – Haleigh Fabres/Gabrielle Mackenzie def Ella Carrington/Cameron Wong 4-1, 4-5(7), 10-4

Ironically, the four teams in action today will only have virtually 48 hours rest, having been involved in Pro League action on Sunday.

At 6 pm today, Club Sando will be squaring off against Defence Force and, two hours later, San Jabloteh will be facing Ma Pau Stars.

The Quarter Final Round will be contested on November 12 and 13, with the Semi Final phase scheduled for November 22 and the Final on December 2.

The Trinidad and Tobago Football Association (TT FA) yesterday received the official clearance from FIFA for Bostock who plays for Racing Club de Lens in Ligue 2, France.

This also means that the midfielder cannot play for any other country from here on as FIFA rules state once a player has switched nationality once, he cannot make a second change to become eligible for another country.

“It’s good news for us,” TT head coach Stephen Hart said as he thanked the TT FA for its efforts in securing the necessary documentation for Bostock.

“Obviously it’s been a long time for this to come through going back to March and I would like to thank the FA for taking all the necessary steps and seeing it through to the end.” Bostock’s presence is likely to be immediately called upon by Hart following his suspension of attacking midfielder Kevin Molino for two matches for recent indiscretions.

The 24-year-old could make his debut on Friday agsinst Costa Rica.

Bostock previously represented England in official competition at the youth level. His father is Trinidad and Tobago-born which allows him to play for TT .

Hart has also added US-based midfielder Ataulla Guerra to his squad for Friday’s World Cup qualifier versus Costa Rica.

Guerra who is back in the country on offseason away from his club Charleston Battery, joined the TT camp yesterday as the 24th player.

The 28-year-old midfielder made 26 appearances for Charleston Battery. He is a former player with Caledonia AIA, San Juan Jabloteh, Central FC and ROPS of Finland.

Also winning their categories were Rossi Lochan (Cadets) and Justyn Kanta Persad (Sportsman).

In the Rotax International class, Che Carrington won Heat 1 (12 laps) in a sizzling time of 8:01:463. Rounding out the top three were Marcus Skinner (8: 13.829) and Enrique De Leon (8:14.196) while Ali was a distant fourth with a time of 8:14:466.

Ali’s fourth place finish in Heat 1 was soon forgotten though, as the racer secured top spot in Heat Two (12 laps) with a time of 8:08:723. He was followed by Carrington (8:09:133) and De Leon (8:14:224).

In the 15 lap final, there was no stopping Ali who got the chequered flag after registering a winning time of 9:42:227. De Leon followed in 9:53.417 while Matthew Singh clocked 10:09.246.

Che Carington’s 4th place finish in the final was sufficient to secure him the second spot on the day’s overall results with a time of 10:09:432. De Leon was third overall while Marcus Skinner and Singh were fourth and fifth overall.

Rota x Internati onal Overall Rac eda y Results 1st – Reza Ali 2nd – Che Carrington 3rd – Enrique De Leon 4th – Marcus Skinner 5th – Matthew Singh Cadets Overall Raceday Results 1st – Rossi Lochan 2nd – Nikhil Nanan 3rd – Ben Mohan

Sports man Overa ll Rac eda y Results 1st – Justyn Kanta Persad 2nd – Dillon Ali 3rd – Matthew Phillip 4th – Anderson Mohammed 5th – Shane Sheppard 6th – Scott Wortma

Aaron Wilson and Joshua Maxwell are leading the charge, playing undefeated in their four matches.

Blasters, after finishing the round robin in first place, will start off this evening’s proceedings at the WASA Grounds, St.

Joseph when they play fourth placed Baggoo Himalaya Tough Guys at 7pm while second-placed Gladiators will do battle against third seed WASA at 9pm.

Blasters comfortably defeated Baggoo Himalaya Tough Guys 5-1 in their last match. Mark Dowell was the lone winner for the Baggoo team with a 3-0 (11:9, 11:8, 11:6) victory over Kenwin Small.

Top ranked Blasters local and former Sweden- based player Aaron Wilson battled from two sets down to defeat Canadian-based David Mahabir 3-2 (5:11, 5:11, 11:3, 11:8, 11:8); Alaric Humphreys recorded a 3-2 victory over veteran Lionel Darceuil (12:10, 8:11, 11:6, 2:11, 14:12); Zeke Huggins and Joshua Maxwell won both their matches by a 3-0 margin against Wesley Dookho and Anil Ramlakhan respectively while Luc O`Young dropped a set but prevailed 3-1 vs Merle Baggoo.

The last match of the round robin phase was a nail-bitter as Gladiators needed a victory against WASA to secure a spot in semi-final and they did that by winning 4-2.

The victory meant that Gladiators climbed to second on the table and Baggoo Himalaya Tough Guys qualified while D`Abadie Youths were knocked out of the tournament because of the head-to-head rule as both teams finished on six points.

Gladiators’ Guyanese import Shemar Britton led the way with a 3-1 (8:11, 11:9, 13:11, 11:4) victory over Curtis Humphreys and Astra Edwards sealed the victory for Gladiators as she defeated Ancil Russell 3-2 (11:5, 9:11, 9:11,11:5, 12:10).

Gladiators’ Aleena Edwards and Linda Boodhan won their matches 3-1 against Brittany Joseph and Riad Abasali respectively.

Winning for WASA were Kenneth Parmanand with an easy 3-0 (13:11, 11:5, 11:3) result over the other Guyanese on the team Joel Alleyne, while Franklyn Seechan defeated Aaron Edwards 3-2 (9:11, 11:9, 8:11, 13:11, 11:6). In other results, D`Abadie Youths lost (4-3) to both Carenage Blasters and WASA.