9 hours ago
4
Huge congratulations to the Trinidad & Tobago national netball team on punching their ticket to the 2027 Netball World Cup in Sydney, Australia. What a magnificent, professional performance from the beloved “Calypso Girls”.
Qualifying for a World Cup in any sport is an extraordinary feat and proves beyond a shadow of a doubt that a group of athletes locked in, stayed disciplined, executed their game plans, and put in the hard work long before stepping onto the court.
Eight teams entered the Americas qualifiers knowing only the top two would board the plane to Sydney. With zero margin for error, head coach Liselle Johnson had her squad firing on all cylinders. By the time they reached their final match, the Calypso Girls had already locked up one of those coveted spots, after stringing together six straight wins. But true champions never take their foot off the gas. They marched onto the court for their final game against host nation Barbados and delivered a clinical, 60-51 performance to sweep the tournament and win all seven of their games.
I must admit, seeing the United States finish down the ladder behind St Vincent & the Grenadines was a minor shocker. American teams in almost any sporting discipline usually pack a serious punch, but ranked 40th in the world, their netball program clearly has some catching up to do.
It will be fascinating to watch how the USA Netball Association addresses their blueprint over the next couple of years. But let’s keep the spotlight right where it belongs: on the Calypso Girls. The national netball team has proudly carried the ‘Calypso Girls’ title ever since competing at the inaugural World Netball Championships back in 1963. Sixty-three years later, the name is still running strong. Back then, of course, there was no soca on the airwaves, just pure, unfiltered calypso rhythm driving the road march.
For those of us old enough to remember, who could ever forget the legendary 1979 squad? They etched this twin-island republic into the history books by becoming the only team outside of netball titans Australia and New Zealand to ever lay hands on a Netball World Cup. Governed by the great netball guru Lystra Lewis and captained by Sherril Peters, the indisputable star of the show was vice-captain Jean Pierre. Playing in her fifth consecutive World Cup, Pierre was a towering icon.
After that historic triumph, the entire team was collectively awarded the Chaconia Medal Gold. Now, I am no politician, but if I were prone to parliamentary rants, I would have stood up and demanded the Trinity Cross for every single one of those women. Winning a World Cup is the pinnacle of human athletic achievement, yet as is so often the case in this country, sports are treated by the powers that be as little more than a side hobby. The precedent was already etched in stone. Hasely Crawford received the Trinity Cross after capturing the 100m gold at the 1976 Montreal Olympics.
Decades later, Keshorn Walcott was awarded the Order of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago (ORTT) for his javelin gold in London 2012. Meanwhile, our 4x100m relay quartet from Beijing 2008 originally received Chaconia Gold, but even after the Jamaican team was disqualified and the T&T boys were officially upgraded to Olympic Gold, their national awards were never upgraded. Back in 1979, Jean Pierre—the goal-shooting maestro who remains the only netballer to play in five straight World Championships—was to netball what the late, great Mighty Sparrow was to calypso. Thankfully, she was individually awarded the Trinity Cross that year.
My own personal brush with netball came years ago when I started my tenure at Carib Brewery. I inherited the sponsorship portfolio for our sports teams, spanning cricket, football, rugby, hockey, and beyond. The undisputed powerhouse in domestic netball back then was the Malta Carib Senators. Even with Jean Pierre lacing up for our arch-rivals, the Marvellites, the brewery-sponsored squad hoisted plenty of hardware.
I fondly recall one season after the Senators clinched the league title, the brewery’s late Managing Director, Tim Nafziger, decided we should spend a day honouring the champion women. Rather than organising a relaxing lime at Maracas Beach, Tim, in his infinite wisdom, challenged the Senators to an exhibition match against the Company’s Executive Management team at the public courts. Naturally, there I was in sneakers, only for our suit-and-tie executive squad to be thoroughly, completely, and hilariously humiliated by proper national netballers. Lesson learned.
Fast forward to 2026, and today’s squad is expertly led by skipper Kalifa McCollin. Upon landing back home from Barbados, McCollin immediately made a public plea for real, tangible backing from the powers that be. I sincerely hope her call doesn’t fall on deaf ears and the team gets the support they need to cross the next hurdle.
Make no mistake, the Calypso Girls are ranked 12th in the world, and every single fixture down under is going to be a dogfight. Just scan the roster of the 17 other qualified nations, and the scale of the task becomes clear. Jamaica once again has to be the yardstick, as they are ranked 4th and claimed bronze at the last Netball World Cup.
McCollin and her team know the hard work starts right now. Qualifying was simply step one; competing against the elite requires tools, resources, and structured elite preparation. Do I say more? Of course I will say more.
First, the Sports Company of Trinidad & Tobago (SporTT) and the Ministry of Sport must step up with the kind of high-performance funding required for a national team walking onto the global stage. Second, the Ministry of Tourism needs to immediately jump on this golden sports tourism vehicle to showcase the country and, by extension, its sports tourism. Do not miss it! I vividly remember attending the 2006 FIFA World Cup in Germany. After our boys held Sweden to a historic 0-0 draw, Trinidad and Tobago became the darlings of the entire tournament. Everywhere I walked in my red T&T jersey, German fans were practically offering to buy it off my back.
Finally, I am making a direct appeal to Corporate T&T: seize this moment. Step up and sponsor these women. Make the Calypso Girls brand ambassadors for your companies. Put them in your television commercials, feature them on billboards, and let the local public fall in love with them while your brand reaps the exposure. Bring them to the shopping malls for product activations throughout the upcoming year. It is a win-win partnership waiting to happen.
Australia is a sporting giant, and you can bet your bottom dollar they will put on a world-class spectacle in 2027. They may be famous for their cricket and rugby, but they will ensure the entire planet is watching this Netball World Cup. Let us make sure the world knows T&T is in the building, ready to make noise! The work starts today.
Good luck to the team. And to everyone across Trinbago celebrating the festival of lights, Shubh Divali! May your homes glow with the warmth of love, the brightness of happiness, and the light of countless memories!
Editor’s note: The views expressed in the preceding article are solely those of the author and do not reflect the views of any organisation in which he is a stakeholder.
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