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| Full name | B Mobile Joe Public Football Club | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Nicknames | Eastern Lions Saints | ||
| Founded | 1996; 30 years ago (1996) | ||
| Dissolved | 2011; 15 years ago (2011) | ||
| Ground | Marvin Lee Stadium Tunapuna,Trinidad and Tobago | ||
| Capacity | 6,000[1] | ||
| Chairman | Jack Warner | ||
| Manager | Rajesh Latchoo | ||
| League | National Super League | ||
| 2010–11 | TT Pro League, 3rd (relegated) | ||
Joe Public Football Club was afootball club fromTrinidad and Tobago that used to play in theTT Pro League. Nicknamed theEastern Lions, it was owned by formerFIFA vice-presidentJack Warner.
Following the disappointment in 1996 of theTrinidad national team, which saw the country fail to qualify for World Cup 1998, Austin "Jack" Warner proposed that creating a league to produce home grown players would function as the building blocks to qualify for the next World Cup in Japan and South Korea. Thus, the need for a professional league and the ability for clubs to operate as business entities, the Joe Public Football Club was formed.
After entering and winning the Eastern Football Association's Competitions in 1996, Joe Public qualified for and won the Trinidad and Tobago Football Association's Champion of Champions Tournament. This allowed the club entry into the Semi-Professional Football League (SPFL) after only one season in existence. During the beginning years of the club's existence, Joe Public had established an operative football office with paid staff and employed several players from countries throughout the Caribbean, Nicaragua, Mexico and Brazil.
The club finished second in their first season of the SPFL in 1997, and in 1998 they won the Champions' League Tournament, the Craven A SPFL League title, and the CFU Caribbean Club Championship.[2]
However, in 2004, Joe Public withdrew from theProfessional Football League to play in the National Super League, Trinidad and Tobago's second division, but returned after two years for the 2006 season, in which they clinched the league championship title.
In November 2007, as a result going undefeated through the group stage of theCFU Club Championship 2007, Joe Public advanced to the knockout rounds after decisive wins over Sagicor South East United fromDominica 5–0, andSV Racing Club Aruba 7–0. In the quarterfinals they defeatedBassa F.C. fromAntigua and Barbuda 4–0 and then in the semifinals, Joe Public upended the Puerto Rico Islanders 1–0 to advance to the final. On 16 November, Joe Public fell toHarbour View ofJamaica 1–2 to finish runner-up. However, due to the reorganizedCONCACAF Champions' Cup into the CONCACAF Champions League, Joe Public qualified for the Champions League in August 2008.
On 26 August 2008, Joe Public faced theNew England Revolution, from theUnited States in the first leg of the preliminary round in theCONCACAF Champions League 2008–09. TheEastern Lions defeated New England Revolution 2–1 in front of a crowd of 2,100 at theMarvin Lee Stadium. Then, on the return leg before 3,523 spectators inFoxborough, Massachusetts, Public used a hat trick fromGregory Richardson in routing New England Revolution 4–0 inGillette Stadium to advance to the group stage on a 6–1 aggregate score. With the result, Joe Public became the first Caribbean club to defeat a team from theUnited States in a CONCACAF club competition. In addition, Public were also the first to score as many as three goals against a club from the United States.[3]
In the group stage, Joe Public were drawn withAtlante,Olimpia, andMontreal Impact. On 17 September 2008, Joe Public did not start the group stage on a positive note, falling 2–0 toMontreal Impact inMontreal.[4] TheEastern Lions home opener for the CONCACAF Champions League did not go well either, as Joe Public lost 3–1 to C.D. Olimpia in theMarvin Lee Stadium giving the club no points from its first two games in the group stage.[5] However, in their third game, Joe Public traveled toCancun, Mexico and defeatedAtlante 1–0.[6] On 8 October, Joe Public lost another game in the group stage. This time they fell toMontreal Impact again 4–1, slashing the chances of Joe Public advancing beyond the group stage. With the loss toAtlante 2–0 inCancún,Mexico on 21 October, Public was officially eliminated from theCONCACAF Champions League 2008–09. Finally, to finish the group stage, Public travelled toTegucigalpa,Honduras to faceOlimpia. They lost the match 4–0 to end their run in the CONCACAF Champions League with a record of 3–0–5 in the competition, with a disappointing 1–0–5 record in the group stage to finish at the bottom of their group.
Only two days after a loss to Montreal Impact in the CONCACAF Champions League, Joe Public needed a goal fromGregory Richardson in the 47th minute to defeatSan Juan Jabloteh 1–0. With the win Joe Public advanced to the final of theFirst Citizens Cup. However, in the final,W Connection won a thrilling match, which saw Joe Public level the score 2–2 in the second half following a goal fromKeyeno Thomas. But Public eventually lost the game on penalty kicks 6–5.
In 2011, Joe Public withdrew from TT Pro League due to issues arising from owner Jack Warner[7]In 2014, the club withdrew from Super League due to financial reasons.[8]
Joe Public played their home games at the 6,000-capacityMarvin Lee Stadium, located at theDr. João Havelange Centre of Excellence in Tunapuna. The stadium was named after the national U-20 football captain, a standout defender at the time, who sustained head and neck injuries suffered in a collision withLandon Donovan in an U-20 game against theUnited States. He was left paralysed after the incident and died of illness as a result of his weakened state. Lee was later recognised by the Trinidad and Tobago government for his service to the nation and is remembered as a strong-willed individual who refused to let his injuries get the better of him.[9]
In 2005, Warner proposed that Marvin Lee Stadium install an artificial playing surface, citing that it would bring more credibility for the region.[10] Two years later, through a developmental grant fromFIFA, Joe Public became the first Caribbean club to install an artificial playing surface, reportedly costing in excess ofTT$8 million (US$600,000). The first game played on the newly installed playing surface saw Joe Public faceCaledonia AIA in a TT Professional Football League match, which Caledonia AIA won 1-0.
[when?]
Domestic
Invitational
International
| Season | League season | FA Trophy | First Citizens Cup | Digicel Pro Bowl | TOYOTA Classic | Lucozade Sport Goal Shield | CFU Club Championship | CONCACAF Champions League | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| League result | Big Six | ||||||||
| 1997 | 2nd | Unknown | did not qualify | ||||||
| 1998 | Champions | Quarter-Finals | Champions | Quarter-Finals | |||||
| 1999 | 2nd | Final | Not Held | Quarter-Finals | |||||
| 2000 | 4th | Final | Semi-Finals | Champions | Quarter-Finals | ||||
| 2001 | 2nd | Champions | did not qualify | Semi-Finals | did not qualify | Not Held | |||
| 2002 | 3rd | Quarter-Finals | Semi-Finals | Semi-Finals | did not qualify | ||||
| 2003 | 5th | Quarter-Finals | Semi-Finals | Unknown | did not qualify | ||||
| 2004 | Withdrew† | did not enter | Abandoned | did not enter | did not qualify | ||||
| 2005 | did not enter† | did not enter | did not enter | Final | did not qualify | ||||
| 2006 | Champions | 4th | Round of 16 | Quarter-Finals | did not qualify | Quarter-Finals | did not qualify | ||
| 2007 | 2nd | 3rd | Champions | Quarter-Finals | Quarter-Finals | Champions | Final | did not qualify | |
| 2008 | 5th | 5th | Round of 16 | Final | Quarter-Finals | Quarter-Finals | Not Held | did not qualify | |
| 2009 | Champions | Winners | Champions | Final | Champions | Champions | Quarter-Finals | did not qualify | Group Stage |
| 2010–11 | 3rd | Quarter-finals | Champions | Second Place | did not qualify | ||||
| 2011–12 | did not enter | Did not qualify | |||||||
†Joe Public voluntarily spent the 2004 and 2005 seasons in the National Super League. The Eastern Lions won the National Super League title in both years.
Notre Dame – 4:0
Waterhouse – 3:1
Caledonia AIA Fire – 1:0
D.C. United – 0:8Chicago Fire – 0:2
Guinness Harlem Bombers – 2:0
SV Robinhood – 5:0
RKV FC Sithoc – 7:0
Carioca – 1:1Harbour View – 1:1W Connection – 1:0
Pachuca – 0:1Sagicor South East United – 5:0
SV Racing Club Aruba – 7:0
Bassa – 4:0
Puerto Rico Islanders – 1:0Harbour View – 1:2New England Revolution – 2:1, 4:0 (Joe Public F.C. advances 6:1 on aggregate)
Montreal Impact – 0:2, 1:4
Olimpia – 1:3, 0:4Atlante – 1:0, 0:2SV Leo Victor – 4:3
Avenues United – 6:0
Devonshire Cougars – 8:2Walking Boys – 5:0Systems 3 – 3:1San Juan Jabloteh – 1:0Puerto Rico Islanders – 1:1Bayamón – 1:3
Brujas – 2:2, 4:2 (Joe Public F.C. advances 6:4 on aggregate)
Municipal – 2:3, 1:1Santos – 2:5, 1:5Columbus Crew – 1:4, 0:3| History |
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| Competition | |||||
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| Associated competitions | |||||
Caribbean football club champions | |||||||||||
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