The TT Pro League (formerly known as the Professional Football League) is the

Trinidad and Tobago Trinidad and Tobago (, ), officially the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, is the southernmost island country in the Caribbean. Consisting of the main islands Trinidad and Tobago, and numerous much smaller islands, it is situated south of ...

professional league for

association football Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...

clubs. The league serves as the top division in the

Trinidad and Tobago football league system The Trinidad and Tobago football league system, also known as the football pyramid, is a series of interconnected leagues for men's association football clubs in Trinidad and Tobago. The system has a hierarchical format with promotion and relegatio ...

and is the country's primary football competition. Contested by ten clubs, the league is one of the world's few football leagues that does not operate on an automatic system of

promotion and relegation In sports leagues, promotion and relegation is a process where teams are transferred between multiple divisions based on their performance for the completed season. Leagues that use promotion and relegation systems are often called open leagues. ...

. Seasons run from September to May, with teams playing 27 games each, totaling 135 games in the season. Most games are played in the evenings of Fridays (''Super Fridays'') and Saturdays (''Fiesta Saturdays''), with a few games played during weekday evenings. The Pro League headquarters is located in northwest of Trinidad and Tobago in St. Augustine. The league is currently sponsored by

Digicel Digicel is a Jamaican and Caribbean mobile phone network and home entertainment provider operating in 33 markets worldwide. Digicel has operated in several countries, including Guyana, Fiji, Haiti, Trinidad and Tobago, St. Lucia, Suriname, and Ja ...

and thus officially known as the Digicel Pro League. The Professional Football League, forerunner to the current

TT Pro League The TT Pro League (formerly known as the Professional Football League) is the Trinidad and Tobago professional league for association football clubs. It is the country's primary football competition and serves as the top division in the Trinidad ...

, was inaugurated on 5 January 1999 as part of a need for a

professional A professional is a member of a profession or any person who works in a specified professional activity. The term also describes the standards of education and training that prepare members of the profession with the particular knowledge and skil ...

league to strengthen the country's

national team A national sports team (commonly known as a national team or a national side) is a team that represents a nation, rather than a particular club or region, in an international sport. The term is most commonly associated with team sports, for exam ...

and improve the development of domestic players. The league lasted three years until a decision composed of club owners in March 2002 to cease league operations of the Professional Football League. Consequently, the TT Pro League was born as the country's new professional league operating as a corporation owned by the member clubs. Teams competing in the Pro League may qualify for the CFU Club Championship on virtue of league positions. In addition, the top three Caribbean clubs enter the group stage of the

CONCACAF The Confederation of North, Central America and Caribbean Association Football,, ; french: Confédération de football d'Amérique du Nord, d'Amérique centrale et des Caraïbes, . Dutch uses the English name. abbreviated as CONCACAF ( ; typese ...

Champions League. There is no automatic promotion to the Pro League from the country's second-tier

National Super League The National Super League is a league for semi-professional association football clubs in Trinidad and Tobago. It is the second-highest division of the Trinidad and Tobago football league system. The league currently comprises 19 teams between 2 l ...

. The league's club members vote to determine which, if any, applications for admission into the league will be permitted. Preference is given to the Super League champion. Since the inaugural season in 1999, 22 distinct teams have competed in the Pro League. Six clubs have won the title:

W Connection W Connection Football Club is a football club from Trinidad and Tobago, which currently plays in the TT Pro League. The club plays its home games at the Manny Ramjohn Stadium in Marabella. The club's offices are based at the Point Lisas Industria ...

(5 times),

San Juan Jabloteh San Juan Jabloteh Football Club is a football club located in San Juan, Trinidad and Tobago that plays in the country's TT Pro League. The team plays its home games in Hasely Crawford Stadium in Mucurapo, Trinidad. History The club was founded ...

(4), Defence Force (3),

Central FC Central Football Club is a Trinidad and Tobago professional football club, based in California, that plays in the TT Pro League. Founded in 2012, the ''Sharks'' were the 21st team to join the Pro League and plays its home matches in Ato Boldon St ...

(2), Joe Public (2), and

North East Stars Athletic Club Port of Spain (previously known as North East Stars) is a Trinidad and Tobago professional football club, based in Port of Spain, Trinidad, that plays in the TT Pro League. The team plays its home games at the Hasely Crawford Stad ...

(1) with W Connection being the first team to win consecutive titles (2000 to 2001). The record number of points accumulated by a team is 92 over 36 games by San Juan Jabloteh, who won the Pro League in 2003–04. At the other end of the scale,

Tobago United Tobago United Football Club was a football club from Trinidad and Tobago, that played in Professional Football League of Trinidad. The team's home stadium was Dwight Yorke Stadium, 3 km from Scarborough, Tobago's main town. History Ensuri ...

remains the only club to have lost every game in a season during 2004. Tobago United also holds the record for the fewest goals scored in a season, having scored just 13 in the same season. San Juan Jabloteh hold the record for the most goals scored, with 113 during the 2003–04 season. Fourteen top goalscorers from seven different teams have been awarded the Golden Boot.

Arnold Dwarika Arnold Dwarika (born 23 August 1973 in Upper Santa Cruz, Trinidad) is a retired Trinidadian football player, who played as a midfielder for the Trinidad and Tobago national team. He went to school at Malick Senior Comprehensive in Trinidad. Car ...

scored 45 goals in a 28-game season – the most in a Pro League season, while

Jerren Nixon Jerren Kendall Nixon (born 25 June 1973) is a Trinidadian former professional footballer who played as a forward. After beginning his career with Trinidadian clubs Airport Authority and ECM Motown, Nixon signed for Dundee United in 1993, where h ...

scored 37 in a 26-game season in 2004.

Randolph Jerome Randolph Jerome (born February 2, 1978) is a Guyanese soccer player who currently plays for North East Stars in the TT Pro League. Career Professional Jerome began his career in Trinidad with Doc’s Khelwalaas, before moving to league ri ...

was the first international player to win the award in 2003–04 having scored 28 goals in 36 matches.

History

Champions

In the inaugural season of the Professional Football League, Defence Force continued a theme set in the 1970s, 1980s, and early 1990s, which saw the club win a record twentieth league championship.

earned the club's first two titles when the ''Savonetta Boys'' won the league in consecutive years in 2000 and 2001. In fact, W Connection became the first Pro League club to complete the league and cup

double A double is a look-alike or doppelgänger; one person or being that resembles another. Double, The Double or Dubble may also refer to: Film and television * Double (filmmaking), someone who substitutes for the credited actor of a character * Th ...

in 2000. However,

ended the possibility of a three-peat when the club finished three points clear of

to win their first league championship in 2002. Jabloteh successfully retained the title in 2003–04, having finished 12 points ahead of W Connection in the second successive season.

ended the ''San Juan Kings Pro League reign having finished top during the regular season and gained enough points during the Pro League's inaugural Big Six competition to secure the club's first championship in 2004. After finishing second in three consecutive seasons,

won its third Pro League title in 2005 by finishing 15 points clear of San Juan Jabloteh. The 2006 season saw the closest finish in Pro League history with Joe Public claiming the title by superior

goal difference Goal difference, goal differential or points difference is a form of tiebreaker used to rank sport teams which finish on equal points in a league competition. Either "goal difference" or "points difference" is used, depending on whether matches ar ...

over W Connection after the two teams ended equal on points. The league championship title came down to the last match day of the season. W Connection needed a win by at least three goals against Joe Public to win the championship. However, with a 3–1 victory to W Connection the title went to the ''Eastern Lions''. The championship marked Joe Public's first Pro League title and second league championship overall.

reclaimed the Pro League title in

2007 File:2007 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Steve Jobs unveils Apple's first iPhone; TAM Airlines Flight 3054 overruns a runway and crashes into a gas station, killing almost 200 people; Former Pakistani Prime Minister of Pakistan, Pr ...

after finishing first following the regular season by one point over

Caledonia AIA Morvant Caledonia United (formerly known as Caledonia AIA) is a professional football team in Trinidad and Tobago's top-level TT Pro League. It is based in Morvant; its home stadium is Hasely Crawford Stadium. History The Caledonia AIA Football ...

. The ''Men from Morvant'' only earned one point during the Pro League Big Six to give the ''San Juan Kings'' a five-point title win. In

2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...

, San Juan Jabloteh and

ran away with the regular season having finished 20 points clear of third place level at 61. Jabloteh and W Connection drew 0–0 in the final round of the Big Six competition to give Jabloteh their second consecutive title finishing two points ahead of W Connection in the final league table. Joe Public became the second Pro League club to complete the

2009 File:2009 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The vertical stabilizer of Air France Flight 447 is pulled out from the Atlantic Ocean; Barack Obama becomes the first African American to become President of the United States; 2009 Iran ...

, beating W Connection 3–2 in the

FA Trophy The Football Association Challenge Trophy, commonly known as the FA Trophy, is a men's football knockout cup competition run by and named after the English Football Association and competed for primarily by semi-professional teams. The compet ...

final. On 25 March 2010, TT Pro League

CEO A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a central executive officer (CEO), chief administrator officer (CAO) or just chief executive (CE), is one of a number of corporate executives charged with the management of an organization especially ...

Dexter Skeene announced that the Pro League Big Six competition was to be discontinued to increase attendances and importance of league matches, which would be moved exclusively to Fridays and Saturdays. Furthermore, it was announced that by aligning Pro League seasons with those of the major leagues in

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

, the Pro League would afford the opportunity to further link culture with sport to harness and develop the talent of people in

. During the

2010–11 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1. I ...

season, Defence Force won its first ten league matches en route to their second Pro League title and twenty-first league championship.

used a crushing 8–1 win over

Police The police are a constituted body of persons empowered by a state, with the aim to enforce the law, to ensure the safety, health and possessions of citizens, and to prevent crime and civil disorder. Their lawful powers include arrest and t ...

on the final match day of the 2011–12 season to claim their fourth Pro League title finishing one point clear of Pro League newcomer T&TEC. Defence Force earned their second Pro League

championship In sport, a championship is a competition in which the aim is to decide which individual or team is the champion. Championship systems Various forms of competition can be referred to by the term championship. Title match system In this system ...

in three seasons and their third overall after securing the

2012–13 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1. I ...

title. The following

season A season is a division of the year based on changes in weather, ecology, and the number of daylight hours in a given region. On Earth, seasons are the result of the axial parallelism of Earth's tilted orbit around the Sun. In temperate and pol ...

completed the club's second

with an emphatic 4–1 win over defending champions Defence Force in their next to last match. The win marked the ''Savonetta Boys fifth Pro League

, which is the most for any club during the 15 years of the Pro League.

Expansion and contraction

Point Fortin Civic became the first club to be expelled from the Pro League after six players appeared for a match late in the inaugural season. Following the season, FUTGOF were also excluded since the club could not continue to maintain the standards set by the Professional Football League.

and Arima Fire replaced the two clubs the following season. Prior to the 2002 season, Doc's Khelwalaas and

did not follow the remaining six clubs into the newly established

. As a result, two expansion clubs,

and South Starworld Strikers, were admitted to maintain league membership at eight. No team was contracted from the TT Pro League after the league campaign in 2002. However, both South West Institute of Football based in Palo Seco and

from the sister isle of

Tobago Tobago () is an List of islands of Trinidad and Tobago, island and Regions and municipalities of Trinidad and Tobago, ward within the Trinidad and Tobago, Republic of Trinidad and Tobago. It is located northeast of the larger island of Trini ...

joined the league the following year. Joe Public were the first league champion to withdraw from the Pro League following the 2003–04 season. Although the club finished fifth in the table, the ''Eastern Lions'' withdrew from the league citing financial difficulties. South Starworld Strikers joined Joe Public a year later outside the top flight stating that the club would return after a year to resolve its financial obligations. Following the 2005 season, South Starworld Strikers returned to the Pro League alongside newly admitted Joe Public and Superstar Rangers from the

. Rangers became the first club that were invited for admission into the Pro League from the second-tier of the

league system A league system is a hierarchy of leagues in a sport. They are often called pyramids, due to their tendency to split into an increasing number of regional divisions further down the system. League systems of some sort are used in many sports in ...

. The 2006 season would again see South Starworld Strikers withdraw from the league. With the Strikers' departure the club became the first in the Pro League to withdraw from the league twice. However, with the inclusion of

the league remained with ten clubs for

. This marked the first return to professional football for Police since 2001. Following the

season, Police withdrew from the league again as a result of commissioner Trevor Paul's directive to ban lawmen from participating in sporting activities. Ma Pau became the next club to be admitted into the Pro League prior to the

season.

withdrew from the Pro League following the season, citing the state of their home ground, Sangre Grande Recreational Ground, for the past few years as the cause to sit out the

season.

were readmitted into the league following a one-year absence, whereas

FC South End FC South End was a football team from Trinidad and Tobago based in Point Fortin/ La Brea and is a former member of the TT Pro League, the highest level of football in Trinidad. History Founded in 2008, it played its home games at the Manny Ramjo ...

were admitted as a new club to replace North East Stars. With an 8–0 loss to

on 1 September 2009, Police became the first club in seven years besides Tobago United to finish bottom in the league. The club had a disappointing campaign having only recorded nine points with a -48 goal difference. On 8 January 2010,

United Petrotrin United Petrotrin Football Club was a football club from Trinidad and Tobago and a former member of the TT Pro League of Trinidad. It was dissolved in 2009. History Formed in 1980, ''Trintoc'' entered the Point Fortin Football League that same y ...

announced that they had pulled the club from the Pro League.

were readmitted into the Pro League for the

campaign following their one-year absence due to the state of their home ground. In spite of maintaining its largest participation with 11 clubs competing for the second consecutive year, the league season was delayed for a month for rescheduling after

were expelled from the Pro League, leaving 10 teams. Moreover, after the season had been concluded,

Dexter Skeene announced that Joe Public, Ma Pau, and

would not be participating in the 2011–12 season. This resulted in 2010–11 becoming the first season three clubs withdrew from the Pro League. Following a runners-up finish in 2009 and being crowned champions in the 2010 seasons, respectively, T&TEC became the third club to gain promotion from the

on 1 March 2011. Two months before the start of the

season, Jabloteh announced that it had suspended its football club operations and would not be participating in the league season.

, a new club established by

Brent Sancho Brent Sancho CM (born 13 March 1977) is a Trinidadian former professional football player and politician. In February 2015, he became the Minister of Sports for his home country, Trinidad and Tobago. Club career College Born in Port of Spa ...

to represent the Central region of the

country A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. It may be a sovereign state or make up one part of a larger state. For example, the country of Japan is an independent, sovereign state, while the ...

, was formed, officially applied, and were admitted into the Pro League on 6 September 2012. After the

season, however, T&TEC became the seventh team to withdrew from the league during a four-year period. The club cited that their financial struggles to support

football contributed to their withdrawal. In response, the Pro League re-admitted Point Fortin Civic and

on 10 September 2013 to increase league membership to nine. One season after having its application for membership rejected after failing to meet the league's financial requirements, Club Sando was admitted as the 22nd distinct club to enter the Pro League prior to the 2015–16 season.

Top goalscorer

The top goalscorer in the TT Pro League at the end of each season is awarded the Golden Boot. The first recipient was

of Joe Public, who scored a league record 45 goals in 28 games during the league's inaugural season.

Jason Scotland Jason Kelvin Scotland CM (born 18 February 1979) is a Trinidadian former professional footballer and current coach of Larkhall Thistle who last played for Scottish team Hamilton Academical. Scotland started his footballing career in his native ...

became the second

Trinidadian Trinidadians and Tobagonians, colloquially known as Trinis or Trinbagonians, are the people who are identified with the country of Trinidad and Tobago. The country is home to people of many different national, ethnic and religious origins. As a ...

to claim the award with 22 goals for Defence Force in 2000. Due to a shortened league season, the Golden Boot winner for the 2001 season is unknown. Sean Julien of South Starworld Strikers scored 16 goals in 28 games for the club in 2002 to win the award. In the 2003–04 season,

(

Guyana Guyana ( or ), officially the Cooperative Republic of Guyana, is a country on the northern mainland of South America. Guyana is an indigenous word which means "Land of Many Waters". The capital city is Georgetown. Guyana is bordered by the ...

) of

became the first foreign player to win the Golden Boot with 28 goals from 36 games.

scored an impressive 37 goals in 26 matches in 2004 to help North East Stars to their first Pro League title. Gefferson and

Earl Jean Earl Jude Jean (born 9 October 1971) is a Saint Lucian former footballer who played as a striker. He made 21 appearances in the Primeira Divisão for Felgueiras, 84 in the Football League for Ipswich Town, Rotherham United and Plymouth Argyle ...

both of

were the joint recipients of the Golden Boot the following season, with 14 goals apiece. In 2006, the award was again shared between

Roen Nelson Roen Nelson (born 8 April 1980) is a Jamaican international association football, footballer who plays for Portmore United F.C., Portmore United, as a Forward (association football), striker. Career Nelson has played in Jamaica for Portmore Uni ...

and

Anthony Wolfe Anthony Wolfe CM (born 23 December 1983) is a Trinidadian professional footballer who plays as a forward. He represented the Trinidad and Tobago national team on 35 occasions. As a member of the squad that competed at the 2006 FIFA World Cup ...

of Joe Public and

, respectively, with both scorers finishing with 16 goals in 32 appearances. In

, the award was given to Antiguan

Peter Byers Peter Byers (born 20 October 1984) is an Antiguan footballer who plays professionally for SAP FC and the Antigua and Barbuda national team as a striker. Club career Born in Bolans Village, Byers spent his early career in his native Antigua ...

, scoring 15 goals in 32 matches.

Devorn Jorsling Devorn Jorsling (born 27 December 1983 in Morvant) is a Trinidadian footballer who currently plays for Defence Force. Club career Early career Jorsling played extensively in the TT Pro League, initially with W Connection and Caledonia AIA, b ...

of Defence Force picked up the prize a year later with 21 goals in 27 league matches. During the

season,

Kerry Baptiste Kerry Baptiste (born 1 December 1981) is a Trinidadian football striker, who currently plays for the Tampa Bay Rowdies in the North American Soccer League. Club career First signed with Joe Public in March 2007 on a two-year deal. In December ...

scored 35 goals in 25 games, including three

hat-tricks A hat-trick or hat trick is the achievement of a generally positive feat three times in a match, or another achievement based on the number three. Origin The term first appeared in 1858 in cricket, to describe H. H. Stephenson taking three wic ...

to give his side Joe Public their second Pro League title. Jorsling became the first player to win the Golden Boot twice after scoring 15 goals for Defence Force on their way to becoming league champions in

Richard Roy Richard Roy is a Canadian director, actor and screenwriter. He has directed several feature films in French as well as television films and series for the English-language market. He was raised in the village of Saint-Agapit, in Lotbinière Re ...

of Defence Force was the recipient in 2011–12 with 15 goals from 21 matches. Jorsling claimed an unprecedented third Golden Boot award following the

season after recording 21 goals from 21 matches for Defence Force. In 2013–14,

Marcus Joseph Marcus Leric "Lobo" Jr. Joseph (born 29 April 1991) is a Trinidadian professional footballer who plays as a forward for I-League club Mohammedan and the Trinidad and Tobago national team. Career Gokulam Kerala In January 2019, Marcus signed fo ...

scored 16 goals to secure his first Golden Boot and propel Point Fortin Civic to a fourth-place finish in the club's first year back in the Pro League.

continued the theme of winning the Pro League Golden Boot every other season after scoring 21 goals in 24 matches for the ''Teteron Boys'' during the 2014–15 season.

History

Champions

Expansion and contraction

Top goalscorer

Seasons

See also

References

External links