A year ago, the Soca Warriors of Trinidad & Tobago were heroes. After snubbing Sweden with a 0-0 draw and nearly achieving the same result against England, the tiny Caribbean nation-the smallest ever to qualify for the World Cup-stamped itself on the world soccer map. A hero’s welcome awaited the players as they returned from a tournament they were supposed to exit quietly having made headlines for their brave performances.
A fairy tale story, to be sure, but the L.A. Daily News’ Billy Witz points out that it’s all turned ugly since then-so ugly, that the T&T side set to represent the Soca Warriors in their first match of the CONCACAF Gold Cup on Thursday bares little resemblance to the 2006 World Cup team. In fact, 16 of those players are threatening to sue the T&T Football Federation over millions in World Cup revenues they say were denied them. Well before the World Cup, the national organization signed a deal with the players that would deduct 50 percent of the players’ earnings from qualifying, endorsements, and WC warm-ups, and yet somehow the players have only received $5,000 for their share. The T&TFF told players that it needed to deduct expenses and set aside some money for qualifying for the 2010 World Cup. Players say they’ve been deceived.
“There’s no transparency at all in what they brought in,” said Michael Townley, the players’ London-based attorney. “What the players are owed — we’ve been shown figures that are so manifestly inaccurate — it’s honestly a stab in the dark.”