FOOTBALL

The United States and Trinidad and Tobago played to a 0-0 draw in their CONCACAF World Cup semifinal qualifying match at the Hasely Crawford Stadium, last night, which puts both teams on four points following two Group C matches.

At a meeting of the London Football Association (FA) in 1863, the game of football was split into rugby football (the parent sport of American football), in which handling and carrying the ball was allowed, and association football, which banned the use of the hands. The FA established the first set of rules for football, which at that time, was played competitively (or officially) only in private schools and universities.

Soon after, amateur competition grew widely popular amongst British blue-collard workers. The FA Cup, an annual tournament first organized in 1871, sparked massive interest in football throughout Britain. The tournament, which is still played today, starts off with a large pool of teams and climaxes with the FA Cup Final at Wembley Stadium in London. Working-class people followed, participated and bet on matches from the FA Cup.

In 1885, the FA reluctantly (after four years of debate) recognized the legitimacy of professional players. Early professional footballers were paid little more than the average workers who would pay to watch them. In 1888, 12 clubs from England founded the Football League, the first professional league competition. In 1900 and 1904, football was introduced as an exhibition sport and became the first team sport included in the Olympic Games. Since 1908, the sport has been held at every Olympic Games with the exception of 1932 in Los Angeles. Football quickly and successfully filtered into the West Indies.

The Trinidad and Tobago Football Association (TTFA) was formed in July 1908. At the time, there was no national team since Trinidad and Tobago was a British colony, but there was a senior team that represented the colony and played against other teams. Football in Trinidad and Tobago since then has gone through many trials and tribulations narrowly missing out in the World Cup Finals several times until Germany 2006.

In September 1998 the TTFA officially changed its name to the Trinidad and Tobago Football Federation (TTFF) the current governing body for football in the country.

In 2013 the Trinidad and Tobago Football Federation has since then reverted to the Trinidad and Tobago Football Association.