experience
The Trinidad
Enter the Dragons: What do English football star and celebrity David Beckham, the FIFA Under-17 Women’s World Cup and the golden era of Asian women’s football all have in common? On September 25, 2010, the correct answer was Port of Spain, Trinidad. Trinidad and Tobago hosted the FIFA Under-17 Women’s World Cup in September 2010 and it was a month to remember, not only for the twin island republic, but for an entire continent as Asian teams produced historic performances by capturing the first, second and fourth places. The skillful footballers made good use of their time on centre stage. But just in case any further stardust was required, Beckham made a cameo for the FIFA final at the Hasely Crawford Stadium as the tournament ended in fireworks. It was the first time either the Korean Republic or Japan participated in a FIFA final at any level and only the second time an Asian outfit became a World Cup champion. Interestingly enough, Asia’s last success came in the previous and first Under-17 World Cup, which was won by Korea DPR in New Zealand two years ago. The Republic of Korea, led by the dazzling golden boots of their star striker and the competition’s top scorer Yeo Min-Ji, took home the top trophy at the world cup—but only just. After sharing three goals apiece from 120 minutes of football, it took 12 penalties before Korea could disentangle themselves from the tenacious Japanese team. At the death, Korean right-back Jang Selgi got the decisive spot kick as Korea won the penalty shoot out 5-4. “The Asian teams have shown how strong and competitive they are,” said Sylvie Beliveau, a member of the FIFA Technical Study Group. “They have a strong and structured plan from the grassroots level upwards and that’s bearing fruit for them.” Not to be outdone, the tiny, southernmost Caribbean islands distinguished themselves as host. In 2001, Trinidad and Tobago held its first World Cup—the men’s edition of Under-17 competition—and produced such a stunning turnout, with 331,198 spectators and an average attendance of 10,350, that a nation of 1.3 million outdid previous and subsequent host, New Zealand and Finland respectively. In September 2010, as Trinidad and Tobago got its national budget from a new ruling party in the midst of global belttightening, it is unsurprising that the stands were not quite as full. Numbers tell only half of the story, though. The participating teams could scarcely have enjoyed a more affectionate welcome or better weather as locals warmed to the technical, attacking play of the young women. Trinidad and Tobago’s Soca Princesses claimed a bit of history themselves with a maiden World Cup win for the nation in their sixth appearance at a FIFA tournament. The local ladies defeated Chile 2-1 in their opening fixture before ceding honourably to Nigeria and the Korea DPR respectively.
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The Ins & Outs of Trinidad and Tobago
by Lasana Liburd
Anthony Harris
Asian ladies conquer Trinidad and Tobago
Germany and Japan set a feverish early pace with comprehensive triumphs in the group stage. Germany appeared to be unbeatable, but were turned away 1-0 by the Korea DPR in the quarter-final round. Only Spain stopped a clean sweep for the Asians as they edged Korea DPR 1-0 in the third-place play off. They sure enjoyed it too. As they waited for bronze medals, the Spanish senoritas staged mock bullfights on the Hasely Crawford field with their national flags serving as capes and playfully tossed their coach, goalkeeper and anyone else who wandered too close up into the air in salute. Luckily, Beckham was out of arm’s reach. His own arrival was greeted with the brilliant flashes of cameras and mobile phones and the excited screams of his female fans. But not even Beckham could upstage a tremendous final that saw both teams trade leads before the Korea Republic dramatically triumphed over Japan from the penalty spot.