List of TT Pro League seasons
| Founded | 5 January 1999 CFU Club Championship |
|---|---|
| Current champions | Central FC (2015–16, 2nd title) |
| Most championships | W Connection (5 titles) |
| Top goalscorer | Devorn Jorsling (144 goals) |
| Current: 2016–17 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. The league serves as the top division in the Trinidad and Tobago football league system 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. 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 and thus officially known as the Digicel Pro League.[2]
The Professional Football League, forerunner to the current
National Super League
. 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:
North East Stars (1) with W Connection being the first team to win consecutive titles (2000 to 2001).[4] 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 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 scored 45 goals in a 28-game season – the most in a Pro League season, while Jerren Nixon scored 37 in a 26-game season in 2004. Randolph Jerome
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
North East Stars 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.[4] After finishing second in three consecutive seasons, W Connection 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
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.
FA Trophy final.[5]
On 25 March 2010, TT Pro League
Pro League championship
, which is the most for any club during the 15 years of the Pro League.
Expansion and contraction
North East Stars 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
National Super League. Rangers became the first club that were invited for admission into the Pro League from the second-tier of the league system. 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 Police the league remained with ten clubs for 2007
. This marked the first return to professional football for Police since 2001.
Following the
FC South End were admitted as a new club to replace North East Stars.[13] With an 8–0 loss to W Connection 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 announced that they had pulled the club from the Pro League.[14]
National Super League on 1 March 2011.[18] Two months before the start of the 2012–13 season, Jabloteh announced that it had suspended its football club operations and would not be participating in the league season.[19] Central FC, a new club established by Brent Sancho to represent the Central region of the country, was formed, officially applied, and were admitted into the Pro League on 6 September 2012.[20][21]
After the
Top goalscorer
The top goalscorer in the TT Pro League at the end of each season is awarded the
Gefferson and Earl Jean both of W Connection 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 and Anthony Wolfe of Joe Public and San Juan Jabloteh
, respectively, with both scorers finishing with 16 goals in 32 appearances.
In
hat-tricks to give his side Joe Public their second Pro League title.[28] 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 2010–11.[29] Richard Roy of Defence Force was the recipient in 2011–12 with 15 goals from 21 matches.[30] Jorsling claimed an unprecedented third Golden Boot award following the 2012–13 season after recording 21 goals from 21 matches for Defence Force.[31] In 2013–14, Marcus Joseph 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.[32]
Pro League Golden Boot every other season after scoring 21 goals in 24 matches for the Teteron Boys during the 2014–15 season.[33]
Seasons
| Key | |
|---|---|
Bold
|
League champions won domestic double |
| Italics | League champions won continental treble |
See also
References
- General
- "History of the TT Pro League". 29 March 2011. Archived from the original on 27 August 2012. Retrieved 1 June 2013.
- "Trinidad and Tobago Football History". 11 June 2013. Retrieved 11 June 2013.
- Specific
- ^ a b "New Trinidad & Tobago professional league kicks off in March". CONCACAF.com. 5 January 1999. Retrieved 31 May 2014.
- ^ "Pro League welcome new sponsors". Ian Prescott (T&T Express). 8 May 2009. Retrieved 1 August 2009.
- ^ "FCD goes to Trinidad for Hislop Tribute Cup". FC Dallas Media Relations. 26 September 2007. Retrieved 16 October 2009.
- ^ a b "Trinidad and Tobago - List of Champions". Radek Jelínekm, Hans Schöggl and RSSSF. 3 April 2009. Retrieved 31 July 2009.
- ^ "Joe Public lifts 2009 FA Trophy in dramatic style". Randy Bando (TTProLeague.com). 10 December 2009. Retrieved 10 December 2009.
- ^ "Skeene: No reason why new format shouldn't work". Randy Bando (TTProLeague.com). 22 April 2010. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 30 May 2010.
- ^ "Season change for Pro League". Ian Prescott (T&T Express). 11 February 2011. Retrieved 19 June 2011.
- ^ "Defence Force well positioned to lift League Title". Randy Bando (TTProLeague.com). 19 January 2011. Retrieved 30 May 2011.
- ^ "W Connection lifts 2011-12 Digicel Pro League title in emphatic style". Randy Bando (TTProLeague.com). 30 March 2012. Retrieved 20 May 2012.
- ^ Randy Bando (7 May 2014). "Couva millionaire: W Connection wins the 2013-2014 Digicel Pro League crown". TTProLeague.com. Retrieved 7 May 2014.
- ^ "Ma Pau to play in Pro League". Joel Bailey (T&T Newsday). 1 March 2008. Retrieved 11 March 2010.
- ^ Inshan Mohammed (2 April 2009). "North East Stars doubtful of 2009". Randy Bando (TTProLeague.com). Archived from the original on 13 March 2012. Retrieved 22 August 2009.
- ^ Inshan Mohammed (29 January 2009). "Police return to Pro League". T&T Guardian. Archived from the original on 2 February 2009. Retrieved 8 June 2009.
- ^ "Petrotrin pull out from Pro League". Joel Bailey (T&T Newsday). 14 January 2010. Retrieved 14 January 2010.
- ^ "North East Stars return to Pro League". North East Stars Press Release. 18 February 2010. Retrieved 19 February 2010.
- ^ "Tobago United out of Pro League". Randy Bando (TTProLeague.com). 17 September 2010. Retrieved 30 May 2011.
- ^ "Joe Public withdraws from T&T Pro League". Randy Bando (TTProLeague.com). 10 August 2011. Retrieved 15 August 2011.
- ^ "T&TEC predicts smooth transition into Pro League". Randy Bando (TTProLeague.com). 3 March 2011. Retrieved 19 June 2011.
- ^ "Financially starved Jabloteh pulls out of League". Randy Bando (TTProLeague.com). 3 July 2012. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 3 July 2012.
- ^ "Sancho launches Central FC". Central FC Media. 25 July 2012. Retrieved 25 July 2012.
- ^ "Central FC joins Pro League; Jabloteh misses out". Lasana Liburd (Wired868.com). 6 September 2012. Retrieved 6 September 2012.
- ^ Randy Bando (11 September 2013). "Point Fortin, Jabloteh among clubs to contest million $ Digicel Pro League". TTProLeague.com. Archived from the original on 16 September 2013. Retrieved 11 September 2013.
- ^ Lasana Liburd (11 September 2013). "Million dollar league: Pro League's back with big pay-out and new teams". Wired868.com. Retrieved 11 September 2013.
- ^ Ian Prescott (T&T Express) (9 July 2014). "Club Sando not joining Pro League". Soca Warriors Online. Retrieved 10 July 2014.
- ^ "Dwarika Drifts Towards Coaching". Trinidad and Tobago Football Association. 21 January 2013. Archived from the original on 17 February 2013. Retrieved 21 January 2013.
- ^ Inshan Mohammed (24 April 2009). "2007 Pro-League Fixtures". Archived from the original on 28 March 2012. Retrieved 29 August 2009.
- ^ "2008 Pro-League Fixtures". Soca Warriors Online. 29 November 2008. Archived from the original on 29 January 2016. Retrieved 9 October 2009.
- ^ "2009 Pro-League Fixtures". Soca Warriors Online. 23 October 2009. Archived from the original on 29 January 2016. Retrieved 23 October 2009.
- ^ "2010/11 - Pro League, Season Stats Goal". Soca Warriors Online. 24 April 2010. Retrieved 24 April 2010.
- ^ "2011/12 Pro League Fixtures". Soca Warriors Online. 18 June 2012. Retrieved 18 June 2012.
- ^ Inshan Mohammed. "2012/13 Pro League Fixtures". Archived from the original on 24 September 2015.
- ^ Lasana Liburd (20 May 2014). "Marcus takes scoring title as Point Fortin closes on high note". Wired868.com. Retrieved 20 May 2014.
- ^ Randy Bando. "2014/15 Pro League Top Scorers". TTProLeague.com. Archived from the original on 29 May 2016. Retrieved 15 May 2016.