Football was introduced to Trinidad in 1927 by Scottish-born Thomas Boyd who came to Trinidad as a manager. At that time cricket was the most popular sport among the British expatriates, and Boyd discovered that there were no footballs in Trinidad. Boyd was unsure whether or not he could even get enough people to form a football team, nevertheless he wrote to his relatives in Scotland and asked them to send him a football, two bladders and an inflator. When the equipment arrived Boyd was able to get enough people interested to form two teams. Eventually a football club was formed. Later, more clubs representing the different strata in society were formed.
Since its inception in 1927 football has grown in popularity and is played throughout the country. Unlike its early beginnings, the sport now cuts across social and ethnic differences and is just as popular as cricket. Every stratum in society is involved in football. There are many football clubs and leagues for different age groups.
Today, Trinidad and Tobago's national team stands shoulder to shoulder with other football teams around the world. The team qualified to compete in the World Cup 2006, becoming the smallest nation (both in size and population) to ever qualify for the World Cup. The national team drew with Sweden in their opening game and managed to hold England scoreless for 83 minutes. Trinidad and Tobago finished with their first-ever point from World Cup play after finishing 0–1–2 for the tournament.
The national team has also competed in Caribbean Football Union (CFU) and Confederation of North, Central American and Caribbean Association Football (CONCAF) Regional Tournaments.
For current information on the Trinidad and Tobago national team, visit the Soca Warriors website.
For a history of football in Trinidad and Tobago from its inception to the beginning of the twenty-first century read Valentino Singh's The Story of Trinidad and Tobago Football 1893 - 2000, from which this synopsis was extracted.