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Haiti named ‘Team of the Year 2007' by Caribbean Football Union (CFU)

Friday, December 28 2007

CARIBBEAN Football Union President Jack Warner yesterday announced Haiti as the regional "Team of the Year" for 2007.

Warner made his selection known to Haitian Football Federation President Dr Yves Jean Bart in a formal letter and explained that Haiti was undoubtedly the highest achiever in the region.

They were the winners of the 2007 Digicel Caribbean Cup, Qualifiers for the 2007 CONCACAF Gold Cup, first regional qualifiers for the FIFA Under-17 World Championship 2007 and regional qualifiers for the final round of qualification towards the 2008 Olympics.

"As we approach the end of 2007 I consider the time most appropriate to commend you and your Federation for the wonderful achievements which were attained by Haiti," stated Warner.

"Not only can Haitians take pride in those achievements but we, in both CONCACAF and the Caribbean Football Union, of which I have the honour to be President, also feel a justifiable sense of pride. Such accomplishments must be due to the vibrant leadership of the Federation Haitienne de Football," Warner stated.

Warner also revealed that next March, at the CFU Congress, the Caribbean Male and Female "Player of the Year" will be announced.

"To have achieved so much with very limited financial resources deserves the highest commendation and it is my pleasure to recommend that you receive a special award from the Caribbean Football Union as the Caribbean Football Nation of the Year 2007.This shall be done at our Congress on March 2 in Guadeloupe when we shall also be making other awards to the Caribbean Player of the Year ( Male and Female ) and the Caribbean Referee of the Year (Male and Female)," Warner added.

Dr Jean Bart, in a recent interview, said his country has had to make do with its limited resources but remained determined to make a strong bid for 2010 World Cup qualification.

"We have worked very, very hard with the little that we have," Jean Bart said while in Port-of-Spain for a recent CFU function earlier this month.

"We believe that we have a very good chance to make it to the World Cup. Already we have identified a lot of players playing in Europe, in France and Italy, that can come and play for us but our biggest problem is the money because it cost a lot to bring players from that far.

"But right now we have two parts of training - one at home where we train four days a week and then the players abroad are also in training when they can come together.

"We also have two players who played in the Under-17 (World Cup) in training with our senior team. We are one of the poorest countries but our people are very hungry for success even though it has not been easy.

"We think that if we work hard and play good football then we can have a chance to join Jamaica and Trinidad in the World Cup. I want to thank Mr Warner for his support and for having us here and we will try to represent the region as best as we can," Jean Bart added.