Business behind Warriors

THE BUSINESS community yesterday vowed its continuing support for Trinidad and Tobago’s Soca Warriors by committing to help the team to qualify for World Cup 2010 in South Africa.

The Warriors were eliminated from the current World Cup in Germany on Tuesday after they lost 2-0 to Paraguay in Kaiserslautern. Despite not winning a single game in their World Cup debut, TT won the hearts of people around for their courageous performances against Paraguay, England and Sweden.

San Juan Business Association president Gail Merhair yesterday praised the Warriors for doing the nation proud and said the private sector will do its part “to keep the momentum alive.” She suggested that businesses use tax breaks in the 2005/2006 Budget for sports and cultural initiatives to help develop football and other sports at the community level.

Noting that the Warriors have united TT in an unprecedented way through their exploits on the field, Merhair said no effort should be spared in harnessing the energy generated by the 2006 World Cup campaign and using it to help the team prepare for the next World Cup in South Africa. She said Government and the TT Football Federation (TTFF) should discuss strategies for 2010 and the business community stood ready to play its part in helping the Warriors to qualify for that tournament.

Greater Tunapuna Chamber of Industry and Commerce president Rohan Roopnarine said the Soca Warriors must not suffer the same fate as the 1989 “Strike Squad” whose exploits have been all but forgotten. Saying that the Government needed to take a leadership role in TT’s bid to reach South Africa, Roopnarine said the private sector can also play a critical role in helping the next generation of Soca Warriors aspire to World Cup glory.

Noting that many businesses supported the Warriors during the 2006 World Cup qualifiers and continued that support when the team qualified for Germany, Roopnarine said qualification for South Africa is “not transferrable by decision” and all involved in that venture must be driven by passion and patriotism, not politics.

He said preparations for 2010 must begin immediately, the TTFF must come up with a clear plan of how to reach South Africa and that plan must have ways to incorporate the private sector. Roopnarine praised the Warriors for the fighting spirit they showed the world in Germany and hoped that this spirit must be harnessed so that future generations could understand what patriotism is all about.

The TT Chamber of Industry and Commerce yesterday praised the Warriors for their sterling World Cup performance and said it was “now on to South Africa in 2010.” The Chamber called on the business community, Government and the population to support sport on a larger scale as TT strives towards developed nation status.