Tuesday, May 3, 2011

Bahamas vs Turks and Cacaos Islands

The Turks and the Cacaos Islands (TCI) are British overseas territories in the Caribbean. The TCI is made up with the bigger Cacaos and the smaller Turks island, similar to Trinidad & Tobago. This territory is located just above Haiti. It is at the lower area of all the Bahaman Islands. The population is only 36,000. The GDP is average for a Caribbean Island at roughly $17,500 per person. Like most island territories TCI relies heavily on tourism for income. The TCI football Association TCIFA only started in 1996, the year MS started. They do not have a long tradition. They have a football league but there are only 4 teams that play. The goal program has provided most of the funding for a building to house TCIFA officials and a field w/ light to play under. This tiny population did not want to waste $ on World Cup Qualifying games. The TCIFA wanted to promote the youth teams. However FIFA insistence to participate in World Cup Qualifying cycle CTI will comply. FIFA still funds the TCIFA with the goal program. Their current coach is Matt Green. Matt will only have a hand full of players to pick from so he is glad he is only going up against the Bahamas. The TCI did not play in the Caribbean Cup (funding) so it will be hard to judge them. The game should be competitive.
The Bahamas
Happy Hall, Bahamas defender

The Bahamas is not a territory but now a stable developing country. The nations is made up of 29 islands. The estimated population is about 350,000 which make Bahamas the 9th most populous Caribbean team in CONCACAF. Most of the people are located in the capitol of the Bahamas, Nassau. I visited there twice and remember being able to get weed very easily. I did not stay on the resort but mixed in with the locals. The Bahamas also has beautiful beaches in Nassua. The Bahamas relies heavily on tourism for it income and does very well. The GDP is roughly $21,878 which is great for such a big population. They are referred to as the Baha Boyz. They have the Bahamas Football Association that has been established since 1967. They do have a football league that started in 1996 (MLS first year 1996). The league had is called New Providence Football League and had 7 clubs participate. The coach is a Brazilian named Neider dos Santos. He coached the Guyans national team from 2002-2004. He also presently coaches a club in Jamaica so he will be on double duty the summer. The team will be mostly made up from players from this league. . Happy Hall is a young strong defender who just signed a 2 year contract with Dayton Dutch Lions FC of the USL Pro league.


Prediction
The match up. The Bahamas should beat the TCI. I do not believe the TCIFA wants to fund the team to participate in Round 1. The Bahamas has 350,000 and the TCI only has 36,000, that is 1/10 of potential players to pick from. The Bahamas has an established league with 8 teams, the TCI only has 4 teams in it domestic league. I see the Bahamas as the better team. Hopefully both nations enjoy the experience.

3 comments:

Lorric said...

This was going to be my hardest to predict match, but it looks like Bahamas enjoy a significant advantage. Of course, population isn't everything. But if you throw in a lack of motivation for T+C, it looks like Bahamas will win. Of course, the T+C players on the pitch won't be lacking motivation, but if they're not backed up by any ambition behind the scenes they should be at a disadvantage. I don't know the figures, but Bahamas' larger population suggests they might be able to make some money from participating in the group stage, while T+Cs small population may not. But still, I wonder if T+C could make some money from group stage competition? The smaller CONCACAF nations wanted these extra games, so surely there must be money to be made from them for such a push?

It's interesting you've visited some of these places. I wonder if you've been to any more.

Easy access to weed and beautiful beaches. Sounds like a good way to bring in tourists and make money to me!

James Lagrange said...

LOL....When I was single I went to Bermuda 2 times, Bahamas 3 times and Cancun 2 times, Aruba once and Hawaii once....Never once did I see a soccer game or even think of soccer....lol

Lorric said...

Interesting. I had to look up Cancun. Sounds like you were thinking about weed and women to me! :)