There is a new football club in town. Laventille United was launched last month and announced to the public at the closing ceremony of the Police Inter-Agency Task Force Hearts and Minds Football 7s Tournament at the St Paul Street Indoor Facility in Port of Spain.

The team which will be called Miscellaneous Laventille United finished runners-up in the 2-month tournament which was sponsored by the Miscellaneous Group. Beverly Hills were crowned champions of the ten-team tournament which created loads of excitement and caused a stir with matches three times a week at the St Paul’s Recreation Ground.

The winners of the recent Hearts and Minds Football 7s tournament.

At the closing ceremony, Shaun Fuentes, guest speaker at the event, announced that the Miscellaneous Group, a Trinidad-based organisation, would be a chief partner and supporter of the Laventille United club which has registered and entered the Northern Football Association of the TTFA. The team is led by head coach Cedric Hazelwood and managed by Marvin Small.

“We felt this was an area to tap into. During the two weeks of the competition, there was an abundance of talent on display which we felt could be nurtured and that giving them the opportunity to gain exposure and experience through forming the club was the way to go,” Miscellaneous CEO Sham Mohammed said.

“A proper structure has been put in place with a management team, with regular training sessions and bit by bit we will increase and improve the resources for the club to go forward. It is something we are extremely committed to and it is very pleasing for us to be able to be part of this initiative and to have the team participate in the Northern Football Association,” Mohammed said.

Currently in the First Division of the NFA, Miscellaneous Laventille United are top of the standing with ten points after four games, winning three matches and drawing one. They defeated Harvard 2-0 in their opening game courtesy of a double by Kareem Charles. They then drew 2-2 with second placed Malta Carib Alcons with goals coming from Qualanson Archibald and Charles. Laventille United follow-up to defeat Football Factory 1-0 on a Leon Nurse winner and then trounced St Ann’s All Stars 4-1 with Keron Boyce notching a double and Sheldon Morgan and Kurdeem Toussaint among the goals.

Police Senior Superintendent Kenny McIntyre and community activist Hal Greaves have both expressed delight with the establishment of the club and Miscellaneous’ decision to come on board as the main sponsor.

“We saw communities being drawn together, guns being put down and keen rivalries being created on the football field rather than on the streets and this was a most satisfying sight for us during the two months of the Football 7s tournament. And now to hear the news that there will be football team representing the area of Laventille and environs by the name of Laventille United participating in the North Zone is a most pleasing and delightful revelation for us,” Greaves stated.

Mohammed’s company Miscellaneous has also partnered with the Beach Soccer Worldwide organisation and is at present involved in a few projects with the organisation. Beach Soccer Worldwide Vice President Joan Cusco recently commented on this during a tournament in Cascais, Portugal, saying “We have an excellent relationship with Sham Mohammed of Trinidad and Tobago and we have been working on a few projects. We are quite pleased about the interest in beach soccer in the Caribbean region and there is a lot to look forward to with the FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup taking place in the Bahamas next year. Beach Soccer World Cup is a major part of and hopefully, this will be a great opportunity to see countries like Trinidad and Tobago, Bahamas and Jamaica all being part of the Beach Soccer experience at the highest level there is.”

Check out the Awards Ceremony for the IATF Hearts and Minds Under 25 Football 7s tournament held recently at the St Paul Street Sporting Complex in Port of Spain.