No plans to sack Yorke, says TTFA president

PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad:

President of the Trinidad and Tobago Football Association (TTFA), Kieron Edwards, has revealed that Dwight Yorke will remain as head coach of the national team, despite failing in his bid to qualify for the 2026 World Cup.

Yorke was hired by the TTFA last November and given a mandate to qualify for next year's World Cup. However, T&T finished third behind Jamaica and Curacao to miss out on their second ever World Cup appearance.

While speculation was rife that Yorke would lose his job, Edwards said the former national player will continue in his role as the TTFA was satisfied with the direction of the team.

"The most important thing was getting the fans involved in football...seeing the stadium packed supporting the team, knowing the team would have done their very best to qualify.

"What's next? Are we going to scrap the programme that was done in the past? No, we are not going to scrap the programme, we continue to build on the programme. We are in discussions with coach Dwight Yorke and his staff currently in terms of next steps," Edwards said.

"We look forward to the next step with this group and the group with coach Yorke and what we do. The future for T&T's senior football is bright and we will look forward to 2026 and the continued progression with the amount of young players we have there."

The TTFA president confirmed that the national team will compete against three higher ranked teams in the March FIFA window.

T&T will play against home team Uzbekistan, Gabon and Iceland in the FIFA series.

"That tournament will be a next step for TT. It helps us in terms of our push for the next four years in terms of moving up the rankings. All the countries that are taking part in that tournament will be above the ranking of TT," Edwards said.

- CMC