Trinidad and Tobago Women’s League Football (WOLF) recently signed a ground breaking sponsorship deal with sport’s wear brand Ascension valued at two hundred thousand dollars ( $200,000 TTD), with FIFA the world governing football body setting its focus on the women’s game. Ascension is the first corporate entity to rise to the challenge with its record setting sponsorship of the WOLF league, breaking new ground in women’s football in Trinidad and Tobago. This partnership will see the sports apparel provider guaranteeing prize money across two divisions, payments of referees, refreshments and air travel between Trinidad and Tobago.
President of WOLF Kenrick Hoyte was elated to have signed off on what would be the first of its sponsorship of women’s football in Trinidad and Tobago, ” I am really happy to be part of this type of investment by corporate T & T in the women’s game”. The father of national female standout Jannine Francios continued, “This investment comes at an opportune time as FIFA has not only announced an increased focus on women football but an expansion of the Women’s World Cup from 24 teams to 32 teams for the 2023 Women’s World Cup to be held in Australia and New Zealand”. This expansion in the number of teams in the women’s showpiece will see CONCACAF having four guaranteed places up from three and two playoff spots making the possibility of up to six teams from this region being in the final thirty-two teams. Hoyte who has been around women’s football for more than two decades point towards increase player participation in the local league because of this hallmark deal.
Director of the national women’s program Jinelle James was cautiously optimistic of the new deal but stated, ” I don’t want to make a definite statement before I have all the facts as to how the tournament will operate but at a glance I think it is one small step for WOLF one giant step for Trinidad and Tobago Women’s football. To be able to find such huge private sponsorship in these uncertain times with the Covid-19 pandemic still around is a massive achievement”. The former National midfield general said she plans to meet with the WOLF executive shortly to discuss the way forward for women’s football and the news of Ascension partnership was definitely a positive and timely development.
WOLF competition this year is set to be made up of two divisions with the Super league ( top tier) comprising of nine teams led by defending champions Club Sando, St Augustine F.C, Trinicity Nationals, QPCC, Police F.C, Defence Force, UTT, Jewel F.C and Tobago Chicas. They will battle for a top cash prize of 30,000, with 20,000 and 10,000 going to the first and second runner up respectively. The First division ( second tier) will be made up of St. Augustine Juniors, Central Women, Malvern, Diego Martin, UWI, Kamillionare and Legion. Their top prize will be 18,000, with 13,000 and 9,000 for the second and third place finishers. Ascension director Keiron Edwards who signed off on the agreement noted that in keeping with his organisation vision of using sport in this case football as a tool for community and national empowerment it was only natural for them to be the first corporate sponsor to get involved in women’s football in such a massive way. He pointed to Ascension’s involvement in sponsoring the Trinidad and Tobago Super league, North Zone and its’ very own Ascension League as a show of its commitment to the country’s human capital development through sport.
This partnership with WOLF and Ascension apparel has truly pushed women football to new heights where the prospects are endless for our talented women footballers’.
