TT Premier Football League

This article is about the Trinidad and Tobago association football league. For other uses of Professional Football League, see PFL (disambiguation).
TT Premier Football League
Founded5 January 1999; 25 years ago (1999-01-05)[1]
(as Professional Football League) (1999–2001)
First season1999
CountryTrinidad and Tobago
ConfederationCONCACAF
Number of teams11
Level on pyramid1
Relegation toNone
Domestic cup(s)FA Trophy
Digicel Charity Shield
League cup(s)First Citizens Cup
TOYOTA Classic
Lucozade Sport Goal Shield
Digicel Pro Bowl
International cup(s)CONCACAF Champions Cup
CONCACAF Caribbean Cup
CONCACAF Caribbean Shield
Current championsAC Port of Spain
(2023–24)
Most championshipsW Connection F.C. (6 titles)
Top goalscorerDevorn Jorsling (144 goals)
Websitethettfa.com
Current: 2023–24 TT Premier Football League

The TT Premier Football League (formerly known as the TT Pro League) is the Trinidad and Tobago professional league for association football clubs. It is the country's primary football competition and serves as the top division in the Trinidad and Tobago football league system. 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 18 games each totaling 90 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.[2] TT Premier Football League clubs also play in other competitions, such as the FA Trophy, League Cup, TOYOTA Classic, Goal Shield, and Pro Bowl against domestic clubs from other divisions; and against clubs from other countries in the CONCACAF Caribbean Cup and the CONCACAF Champions Cup.

The TT Premier Football League was founded as part of a need for a professional league to strengthen the country's national team and improve the development of its domestic players.[3] The league is a corporation in which the member clubs act as shareholders and was inaugurated on 5 January 1999 under the name Professional Football League before switching to its current name after three years of existence.[1] The TT Premier Football League headquarters is located northwest of Trinidad and Tobago in St. Augustine. The league is currently sponsored by Digicel and thus officially known as the Digicel Pro League.[4] The TT Premier Football League is currently ranked 135th in the world and 12th in CONCACAF based on results during the previous calendar year according to the International Federation of Football History & Statistics (IFFHS).[5][6]

Since 1908, a total of 24 clubs have been crowned champions of the Trinidad and Tobago football system. Of the 22 distinct clubs to have competed in the TT Pro League since its inception, six have won the title: W Connection (6 titles), San Juan Jabloteh (4), Defence Force and Central FC (3), Joe Public (2), and North East Stars (2).[7] The current champions are W Connection after the club won their 6th Pro League title in the 2018 season, 13 years after their first in 2004.[8]

  1. ^ a b "New Trinidad & Tobago professional league kicks off in March". CONCACAF.com. 5 January 1999. Archived from the original on 1 January 2018. Retrieved 31 May 2014.
  2. ^ "Skeene excited over Pro League future". Nigel Simon (T&T Guardian). 2010-03-26. Archived from the original on 2016-03-04. Retrieved 2010-03-26.
  3. ^ "TT go pro". Shaun Fuentes (T&T Guardian). 1999-03-31. Archived from the original on 2014-03-12. Retrieved 2013-01-26.
  4. ^ Cite error: The named reference digicelsponsor was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  5. ^ "The Strongest National League in the World". International Federation of Football History & Statistics. 29 January 2014. Archived from the original on 20 June 2017. Retrieved 29 January 2014.
  6. ^ "Central and North America's strongest League of the 21st Century". International Federation of Football History & Statistics. 2013-03-11. Archived from the original on 2016-03-04. Retrieved 2013-03-11.
  7. ^ "Trinidad and Tobago – List of Champions". Radek Jelínekm, Hans Schöggl and RSSSF. 2009-04-03. Archived from the original on 2009-02-20. Retrieved 2009-07-31.
  8. ^ "Connection lifts Pro League 2018 crown over Couva rivals Central as Sando and Police crash out of top-two finish on final night". Archived from the original on 2023-07-24. Retrieved 2018-12-08.