The community of St James will welcome the first round of action in the inaugural Women's Football Premier League at the St James Barracks, as four of the six franchises convene in a double-header clash, open freely to the public, starting today at 5 pm.
Given the scattered and sometimes persistent rainfall that has covered West Trinidad within the past week, players and supporters will be hoping for the best conditions at a venue not traditionally known to host top level football.
The opening clash will feature some of the most popular names in national senior women's team football. Arin King, the T&T Football Association (TTFA) woman player of the year and the first pick of the first round draft will defend Dragons in the opening fixture against Fuego.
Coaching Dragons are Karla Aleman of Costa Rica and the UK's Joanne Daniel, who will guide top quality players, apart from King, in the likes of her other T&T senior players, Lauryn Hutchinson, another defender and Dernelle Mascall. Other players drafted into Dragons are Venezuela's Maleike Pacheco, Brasilians Quezia Brunatti Proenca, Thais Amorina, Rafaela Silva Marissol Moreira, Paraguay's Annabell Arevalos, England's Isabella Hayes, Jessica Adams of the US Virgin Islands and other T&T nationals: Kadeema Jordan, Shanicar Diamond, Ashley Mark, Stavey Paul and Alana Burgin.
Meanwhile, Fuego, with Richard Hood as head coach and Joel Warrick as his assistant, national players Patrice Superville and Tasha St Louis lead a T&T dominated squad with only five foreign players in the squad, the second fewest of any franchise behind Rush, which has only four foreign players.
Other T&T players in the Fuego line-up are: Diamond Henderson, Anastacia Prescott, Jamila Mathlin, Denisha Thomas, Bernelle Shears, Nickisha James, Jo Marie Lewis and Shanelle Warrick. The visiting players are Leticia Bussato and Camila Demezio (Brazil), Ermelinda Izquierda (Paraguay), Zaudita Kaza-Amlak (USVI) and Christina Murray (Jamaica).
The second match, carded to kick off at 7 pm will see a meeting between top scoring national forward, Kennya Cordner, up against national captain, Maylee Attin-Johnson when Wave FC takes on Angels.
Cordner's Wave is coached by Derek Arneaud and Allistair Ramdoo and the squad includes starting national goalkeeper, Kimika Forbes and Jamaica stand-out Shakira Duncan. The local players are Samantha Kissoon, Tisha Lee Spicer, Patrice Vincent, Charissa Delzin and Verlea Duprey. The other drafted players are Shanice Stephenson (Barbados), Emarie Holland (USA), Laura Becerra (Colombia) an Brazilians Josean Azevedo and Camilla Germano.
Their opponents today, Angels, are led by Attin-Johnson, the first round-draft pick, with other national players, Ayana Russell and Anique Walker in the team. The team is otherwise comprised of two English players, Beth Seasman and Jodie Redgrave, two Brazilians, Hilda Izquierda and Bruna Da Silva, Canadian Alyssa Budhoo, Jamaica's Jodi-Ann Mc Gregor (second round draft), Kandacd Franklin (St Vincent), Jaclyn Poucel (USA), Rafaela De Vargas (Colombia), and T&T nationals, Tkeyah Phillip, Tamar Watson, Peta-Gaye Soman and Tamika Issac. The coaches are Anthony Creece and Janelle Noel, two locals.