THE Trinidad and Tobago Football Association (TTFA) and the University of the West Indies (UWI), St Augustine, have signed a landmark Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to integrate athlete well-being and safeguarding into local football.

The partnership will focus on player care, mental health, and social support, with initiatives including evidence-based player welfare programmes, coach and parent training, student internships, and national conferences on safeguarding.

TTFA vice-president Jameson Rigues described the agreement as, “a partnership of purpose” that puts athletes’ holistic development—mental, emotional, and social—on equal footing with performance.

UWI’s Department of Social Work will provide expertise, while the TTFA’s Safeguarding Department and other sports organisations will benefit from capacity-building. Upcoming initiatives include the nation’s first Safeguarding Awards and a National Conference on Athlete Well-Being.

Both institutions say the MoU will set a new standard for athlete support across T&T.