The Trinidad and Tobago Football Association (TTFA) has unleashed the “Y factor,” with Dwight Yorke as head coach of the T&T team as they seek to achieve a 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification spot.
The former T&T captain and striker was officially and extravagantly unveiled as the senior team’s guiding light on Nov. 14 at the Ato Boldon Stadium in Couva, Trinidad, under spotlights and sparklers.
Yorke described the feeling of leading the national team again, this time as head coach, as “an emotional one” which “has always been a dream of mine.”
After being appointed on Nov. 1, during his first public address, Yorke said he and his coaching staff are using the ongoing seven-day camp at the stadium for both players and officials to interact and acclimatize with each other as they begin working towards the ultimate goal of World Cup qualification.
He commended former head coach Angus Eve for a job well done in bringing the team to their current level so far, and added that he (Yorke) wants to build on this.
“The work begins now. My ambition is to build on what has already been built. With the addition of my backroom staff, we could only hopefully enhance what we’re about. I can assure you that we will be giving 110 % to make sure we get the best out of these players and to try and bring joy, celebration, and excitement,” said T&T’s 2006 World Cup captain.
Yorke believes that once all stakeholders, including the TTFA, backroom staff, sponsors, and the public, are on board with his plan, he can once more return success to T&T.
“I do want to stress there’s a lot of hard work ahead. It’s not going to be an easy challenge, but it’s a challenge that I want all of us to take on. I think that, as a nation, if we all pull in one direction, there is no reason why we cannot be successful. We have done it in 2006 and can surely do it in 2026,” he added.
T&T resumes its World Cup campaign in June 2025 against St. Kitts and Nevis.