Suriname was a step up for W Connection

“It was a very successful tour winning these two games and I was very impressed with how the players stood up, especially against the European players in the Suriname team. Regularly I stress to my players that our competition at DIRECTV W Connection FC, is not just the Pro League clubs – but the world”, said Charles-Fevrier. He continued, “The contest the European players presented was a step up for every player and I hope they appreciated why we push them so hard in training, since they got a very good taste of what high level competitive football could be like.”

As well publicised by now, the Suriname Voetbal Bond in preparation for the 2018 World Cup qualifiers is petitioning their Government to allow the hundreds of Dutch players with Surinamese roots to attain dual-citizenship. During his playing days, Charles-Fevrier played against “De Natio” when they won the inaugural Caribbean Cup in 1978 and their clubs were amongst the best in the region.

Charles-Fevrier noted that the game brought back memories of that time and was interested to see the potentially new Suriname team facing off against traditional CFU giants. “I played against Suriname and their top club teams when they were CFU champions and it will be very interesting to see the potentially new team fully assembled. They certainly could give the likes of Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica and Haiti a stern challenge”, said Charles-Fevrier

Meanwhile Suriname Voetbal Bond president John Krishnadath thanked DIRECTV W Connection FC president David John-Williams for sending the team on such short notice for a game that could be a defining moment in the country’s football history. “It was a joy having W Connection to help us in our efforts to uplift Suriname football and by extension the CFU region football”, stated Krishnadath. “Immediately after contacting them, without hesitation David said they would send a team. It was biggest crowd at the Andre Kamperveen Stadion in three decades and older football fans were speaking in nostalgia about how the atmosphere in the stadium used to be for football, before our 1975 independence”, explained Krishnadath.

He concluded, “We are also playing a political game, the crowd gave us a quorum and we now wait on the government to approve our two bills to parliament will, which allow dual nationality to the many players in Europe who want to be part of this project. David John-Williams who is also a part of the CONCACAF Caribbean Professional League Task Force, noted that from a regional football perspective, it was an opportunity the “Savonetta Boys” could not turn down.