“Vibes real low right now!” Warriors ponder strike over unpaid money from TTFA

French Guiana are not the only obstacles to success for the Trinidad and Tobago Men’s National Senior Team tonight, as the Soca Warriors attempt to put their first points on the board in their 2024-25 Concacaf Nations League A campaign.

Trinidad and Tobago and French Guiana kick off at the Dwight Yorke Stadium in Bacolet, Tobago at 7pm.

Both nations lost their opening fixtures and are at the base of the six-team group. The top two teams advance to the Nations League quarterfinals while the bottom two will be relegated to League B.

Current interim head coach Derek King had a baptism of fire in Tegucigalpa, with a 4-0 loss to Honduras on Friday 6 September. However, Wired868 understands that, in the build-up to last Friday’s contest, the players met to discuss their concerns with the remuneration from the Trinidad and Tobago Football Federation (TTFA).

And the possibility of a strike was tabled.

The Soca Warriors are still unpaid for their two 2026 World Cup qualifying matches against Grenada and The Bahamas in June 2024.

“When the President (Kieron Edwards) came to see us for the first time before the Grenada game, he said they will pay by the end of the week,” one player told Wired868, on condition of anonymity. “But I feel like the week ent finish yet!”

The Warriors claim to be due US$1,500 per match plus a win bonus of US$1,000 for their 7-1 triumph over lowly Bahamas.

The players are accustomed to an allowance of US$300 on tour, which they would use at the airport or hotel over the course of their trips. They spent roughly four days on the road for the Honduras game.

Instead, they claimed to receive just US$100 for the four-day trip on this occasion. And the player claimed that TTFA president Kieron Edwards vowed to cut their win bonus against the Bahamas in half as well.

“(Player name) said the president said we would get US$500 for the Bahamas game,” said the anonymous player. “He said that win ent nothing.”

Wired868 asked Edwards to comment on the allegations regarding unpaid match fees and the reduced travel allowance. However, he had not replied up until the time of publication.

Allegations of unpaid salaries and stony silence are already considered to be characteristic of the new president, who was elected on 13 April 2024. February.

Wired868 understands that the coaching staff for the Men’s National Under-17 are unpaid since February while the Boys and Girls National Under-15 teams might have received just one salary since April.

“All you keep hearing is that they (the current TTFA executive) moaning that ‘the people and them leave them in a tough financial situation’,” said one technical staff member, who spoke off the record.

The Men’s and Women’s National Senior Team staff are believed to have been paid.

The players, though, are being owed. And they are unsure about how to proceed.

While the technical staff strategized about how to frustrate Honduras in Tegucigalpa, their players met to talk about what might get president Edwards to get their just due.

Based on the account of three players, there was no consensus with players split into three general camps: annoyed but willing to play; angry and ready to strike; angry but afraid to strike.

One player confirmed that players were disgruntled but said: “it is being sorted”.

Another player vehemently disagreed that they are close to a resolution.

“The players on the top too soft,” he said. “And the players at the bottom too scared!”

In Honduras, players decided that it was not the right time to put down tools.

“If we didn’t want to play,” one player allegedly told the group, “we should have decided that before we got on the plane [to come here].”

The players allegedly decided that, if they remain unpaid, they would dig their heels in at Bacolet instead.

On the eve of kickoff, a player called Wired868 in frustration. He said the Warriors intend to strike—but he admitted that the team was not unified on the matter.

The national players still don’t know what they will be paid for their efforts during this match window, with captain Aubrey David apparently unable to pin Edwards down to a confirmed match fee and payment schedule.

“Nobody wants to play right now,” said the anonymous player. “[…] We want our outstanding money… There are local players who are not even in season right now and that [match fee] is their whole pay. They have children to mind and all kind of thing.

“[…] The vibes real low right now.”

Will the players go through with the strike action that they threatened?

The anonymous international player paused to consider his response.

“We don’t even know,” he said. “We are saying we not playing, but some men in the camp ‘fraid.

“And some men just talking—but when the time comes, they will go on the field.”

Tonight, King does not only need to get his tactics right. He and the Trinidad and Tobago football public have to rouse players who feel let down and disrespected by their own officials.

Edwards, who was a fierce critic of former Normalisation Committee chairman Robert Hadad’s aloof, autocratic style of governance, has similarly avoided calling press conferences or making himself available to address questions like those posed to him by this publication last night.

The Soca Warriors, yet again, must build their own vibes in the face of perceived disrespect and discourtesy by their parent association.

Lasana Liburd is the managing director and chief editor at Wired868.com and a journalist with over 20 years experience at several Trinidad and Tobago and international publications including Play the Game, World Soccer, UK Guardian and the Trinidad Express.