PORT OF SPAIN, CMC:
THE CARIBBEAN'S number one football team Trinidad and Tobago will not be contesting the Central American and Caribbean (CAC) Games football tournament in El Salvador later this year.
Local officials suggest that a shortfall in finances is responsible for their non-participation.
Jamaica's Reggae Boyz head a quartet of Caribbean teams for the November 23 to December 6 games -- Cuba, Haiti, and Barbados completing the list.
The Jamaicans, historic qualifiers -- first ever from the English-speaking Caribbean -- for the 1998 World Cup Finals in France, are among 12 teams entered for the tournament.
Jamaica, Cuba and Haiti all have top 100 ratings on FIFA's world list, Jamaica at 58th, Cuba 80th and Haiti 84th, while Barbados, semi-final round contenders for the CONCACAF 2002 World Cup qualifying series, are just outside at 109.
From CONCACAF, Mexico and Costa Rica, who appeared at the 2002 World Cup Finals in Korea and Japan, join Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, and hosts El Salvador, and South American teams Venezuela and Columbia complete the dozen.
The field will be divided into four groups of three teams apiece for first round round-robin play with the top two finishers in each group advancing the quarterfinals, to take place December 1-2.
Jamaica are in a tough Group 3 with Mexico and Honduras; Cuba, El
Salvador and Nicaragua are in Group 4, Haiti, Colombia and Guatemala are in
Group 1, and Barbados play alongside Venezuela and Costa Rica in Group 2.
The two semi-final matches will be played on December 4 in the same venue with the tournament wrapping up two days later.
First Round
23.11.2002: El Salvador v Nicaragua; Venezuela v Costa Rica
24.11.2002: Mexico v Honduras; Colombia v Guatemala
25.11.2002: Nicaragua v Cuba; Barbados v Costa Rica
26.11.2002: Jamaica v Honduras; Haiti v Guatemala
27.11.2002: Haiti v Colombia; Barbados v Venezuela
28.11.2002: Jamaica v Mexico; Cuba v El Salvador
Quarter-finals
QF A: 01.12.2002: 1st Group I v 2nd Group IV
QF B: 01.12.2002: 1st Group II v 2nd Group III
QF C: 02.12.2002: 1st Group III v 2nd Group I
QF D: 02.12.2002: 1st Group IV v 2nd Group II
Semi-finals
SF 1: 04.12.2002: winner QF A v winner QF D
SF 2: 04.12.2002: winner QF C v Winner QF B
Third Place Match
6.12.2002: loser SF 1 v loser SF 2
Final
6.12.2002: winner SF 1 v winner SF 2
