Maple Leaf International School, Trinidad

𝐌𝐒𝐘𝐀 𝐅𝐎𝐎𝐓𝐁𝐀𝐋𝐋 𝐅𝐈𝐄𝐒𝐓𝐀 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟔 𝐊𝐈𝐂𝐊𝐒 𝐎𝐅𝐅 𝐈𝐍 𝐂𝐄𝐋𝐄𝐁𝐑𝐀𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍 𝐎𝐅 𝐅𝐈𝐅𝐀 𝐖𝐎𝐑𝐋𝐃 𝐂𝐔𝐏 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟔

The Ministry of Sport and Youth Affairs, in collaboration with the Sport Company of Trinidad and Tobago and the Embassies/High Commissions of the United States, Canada and Mexico, proudly launched MSYA Football Fiesta 2026 at the Hasely Crawford Stadium on Wednesday, June 10, 2026.
Hosted by The Honourable Phillip Watts, Minister of Sport and Youth Affairs, the launch brought together diplomatic partners, sporting legends, youth teams and key stakeholders in a vibrant celebration of football, friendship and national pride, as Trinidad and Tobago joined the global excitement surrounding FIFA World Cup 2026.
Minister Watts, in his remarks, highlighted the importance of using sport as a unifying force to inspire young people, strengthen international partnerships and promote positive social development across communities. He noted that MSYA Football Fiesta 2026 reflects the Ministry’s commitment to creating meaningful opportunities for youth engagement while celebrating the world’s most popular sport.
The launch was attended by His Excellency Michael Callan, High Commissioner of Canada; Mr. Florentino Cabrera, Deputy Head of Mission, Embassy of Mexico; and Mr. Leo Page-Blau, Assistant Public Affairs Officer, Embassy of the United States of America, whose presence underscored the strong diplomatic collaboration between Trinidad and Tobago and the three FIFA World Cup 2026 host nations.
The launch featured National Cricket Ambassadors Dwayne Bravo, Kieron Pollard and Nicholas Pooran, along with former national footballers Stern John, Brent Sancho, Senator David Nakhid and Ancil Elcock, including the Commissioner of Prisons Mr. Carlos Corraspe underscoring the crossover appeal of sport and the power of athletic role models to inspire the nation’s youth.
Guests were treated to an exciting exhibition match between MSYA and Diplo FC, which ended 5–0 in favour of MSYA. Goal scorers included Keron Cummings, Senator David Nakhid, Andrew Bailey, Matthew Serrant and SporTT CEO Arnold Ram.
The football festival also featured youth teams representing the three FIFA World Cup host nations and Trinidad and Tobago, including the International School of Trinidad and Tobago representing the United States, Maple Leaf International School representing Canada, a Mexico team comprising Spanish-speaking youths of Latin American descent, and Naparima College.
Match results reflected spirited competition and strong performances across the board, with Trinidad and Tobago defeating the USA 3–0 and Canada 3–0, Mexico and Canada drawing 0–0, and Mexico edging the USA 1–0, while Trinidad and Tobago and Mexico played to a goalless draw.
In keeping with the spirit of the tournament and the Ministry’s youth development agenda, Minister of Sport and Youth Affairs Phillip Watts said the initiative reflects the Ministry’s commitment to using football as a tool for nation building, youth engagement and international partnership.
“𝑴𝑺𝒀𝑨 𝑭𝒐𝒐𝒕𝒃𝒂𝒍𝒍 𝑭𝒊𝒆𝒔𝒕𝒂 2026 𝒊𝒔 𝒎𝒐𝒓𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒏 𝒂 𝒇𝒐𝒐𝒕𝒃𝒂𝒍𝒍 𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒏𝒕; 𝒊𝒕 𝒊𝒔 𝒂 𝒄𝒆𝒍𝒆𝒃𝒓𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒐𝒇 𝒖𝒏𝒊𝒕𝒚, 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒕𝒉 𝒐𝒑𝒑𝒐𝒓𝒕𝒖𝒏𝒊𝒕𝒚 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒊𝒏𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒏𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒂𝒍 𝒇𝒓𝒊𝒆𝒏𝒅𝒔𝒉𝒊𝒑. 𝑨𝒔 𝑻𝒓𝒊𝒏𝒊𝒅𝒂𝒅 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝑻𝒐𝒃𝒂𝒈𝒐 𝒋𝒐𝒊𝒏𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒈𝒍𝒐𝒃𝒂𝒍 𝒆𝒙𝒄𝒊𝒕𝒆𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕 𝒔𝒖𝒓𝒓𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒅𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝑭𝑰𝑭𝑨 𝑾𝒐𝒓𝒍𝒅 𝑪𝒖𝒑 2026, 𝒘𝒆 𝒂𝒓𝒆 𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒖𝒅 𝒕𝒐 𝒄𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒕𝒆 𝒔𝒑𝒂𝒄𝒆𝒔 𝒘𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒆 𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒈 𝒑𝒆𝒐𝒑𝒍𝒆 𝒄𝒂𝒏 𝒃𝒆 𝒊𝒏𝒔𝒑𝒊𝒓𝒆𝒅, 𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒎𝒖𝒏𝒊𝒕𝒊𝒆𝒔 𝒄𝒂𝒏 𝒃𝒆 𝒆𝒏𝒈𝒂𝒈𝒆𝒅, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒑𝒂𝒓𝒕𝒏𝒆𝒓𝒔𝒉𝒊𝒑𝒔 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑼𝒏𝒊𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝑺𝒕𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒔, 𝑪𝒂𝒏𝒂𝒅𝒂 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝑴𝒆𝒙𝒊𝒄𝒐 𝒄𝒂𝒏 𝒃𝒆 𝒔𝒕𝒓𝒆𝒏𝒈𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒏𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒓𝒐𝒖𝒈𝒉 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒖𝒏𝒊𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒔𝒂𝒍 𝒍𝒂𝒏𝒈𝒖𝒂𝒈𝒆 𝒐𝒇 𝒔𝒑𝒐𝒓𝒕,” said Minister Watts.
MSYA Football Fiesta 2026 marks the beginning of a season of celebration, connection and football-inspired opportunity for Trinidad and Tobago’s youth.