Dr. Andre Phillips’ strident advocacy is reaping results as the UNC government has heeded calls to introduce legislation in the national parliament to amend Section 17(3) of the Constitution of Trinidad and Tobago, allowing for 3rd generation Trinbagonians to represent T&T in sports.
In a YouTube podcast titled “Transnational Attachments” first aired last April 2024, he addressed this concern to allow the T&T national teams to better compete in the 2028 Olympics scheduled for Los Angeles but also mure urgently to assist the national football team in the quest for a spot in the 2026 World cup to be staged in the USA, Canada and Mexico.
The subject of Immigration amendments to aid sports teams was first addressed in the diaspora sports forum in TDON’s first Biennial Conference at Mt Irvine Hotel in 2022 US based Tobagonian philanthropist Sean Powder (whose son Noah Powder is now an integral part of the country’s World Cup squad) opined that TTFA will be better served in its talent pool once amendments to the TT laws could be instituted. These points were echoed by other panelists including Dr Anselm Le Bourne, TTOC president Diane Hendrickson and sports journalist Clayton Clarke who attended the forum.
Dr. Phillips who moderated the session subsequently engaged Foreign Ministry staffers and other sporting aficionados to press for Immigration Act amendments that are now afoot.
Editor’s Note (Correction): An earlier version of this article incorrectly stated that the government moved to amend the Immigration Act to allow 3rd generation Trinbagonians to represent T&T in sports. The legislation in fact amends Section 17(3) of the Constitution of Trinidad and Tobago. We regret the error and have updated the article to reflect this correction.