| Competition: | TT Pro League |
| Season: | 2011–12 |
| Winners: | W Connection 4th Pro League title 4th T&T title |
| Continentalcup1: | 2012 CFU Club Championship |
| Continentalcup1 Qualifiers: | W Connection Caledonia AIA |
| Continentalcup2: | 2013 CFU Club Championship |
| Continentalcup2 Qualifiers: | W Connection Caledonia AIA |
| League Topscorer: | Richard Roy (15 goals) |
| Biggest Home Win: | W Connection 8–1 Police (29 March 2012) |
| Biggest Away Win: | Police 1–6 T&TEC (27 March 2012) |
| Highest Scoring: | W Connection 8–1 Police (29 March 2012) |
| Total Goals: | 238 |
| Matches: | 84 |
| Prevseason: | 2010–11 |
| Nextseason: | 2012–13 |
The 2011–12 TT Pro League season (known as the Digicel Pro League for sponsorship reasons) was the thirteenth season of the TT Pro League, the Trinidad and Tobago professional league for association football clubs, since its establishment in 1999. A total of eight teams contested the league, with Defence Force as the defending champions.[1] The season began on 9 September 2011 and ended on 29 March 2012 with the crowning of W Connection as the league champion.[2] Dexter Skeene, Pro League CEO, announced on 11 February 2011 that by aligning its seasons with those of the major leagues in Europe, the Pro League will afford the opportunity to further link culture with sport to harness and develop the talent of people in Trinidad and Tobago.[3]
Following a runners-up finish in 2009 and being crowned champions in 2010, T&TEC were promoted from the National Super League to the Pro League on 1 March 2011.[4] However, on 15 July 2011, Skeene announced that Ma Pau would not be part of the upcoming season. On 10 August 2011, Skeene further announced that both Joe Public and FC South End would not be participating in the 2011–12 season.[5]
The start of the season was delayed for both Defence Force and Police by three months as Trinidad and Tobago Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar announced a limited state of emergency due to the increased crime in portions of the country.[6] As a result, the Ministry of National Security services were implemented into full-fledged duties. The two teams returned to competition after curfew was lifted throughout Trinidad on 12 December 2011.[7]
The first goal of the season was scored by North East Stars' Seon Power against Pro League newcomer, T&TEC, in the eighth minute of the first game on 9 September 2011.[8] Richard Roy of Defence Force scored the first hat-trick of the season against St. Ann's Rangers on 31 January 2012.[9] Roy went on to claim his first Golden Boot award having scored 15 goals to lead the league for Defence Force.
With a crushing 8–1 win over Police on the final match day of the season, W Connection claimed their fourth Pro League title. The winning match was the highest scoring of the season and featured two braces from Jerrel Britto and Andre Quashie.[10] On 30 June 2012, it was announced that due to financial constraints San Juan Jabloteh suspended their football club operations and would not participate in the 2012–13 season.[11]
By finishing as the league leader following the conclusion of the second round, W Connection qualified for the 2012 CFU Club Championship. In addition, by finishing second in the table, Caledonia AIA also qualified for the competition. Due to the change in the season calendar and the start of the CFU Club Championship in March of each year, the Caribbean Football Union and the Pro League agreed to award the league champion and runners-up (W Connection and T&TEC) qualification into the 2013 CFU Club Championship.[12] However, on 5 March 2013, T&TEC withdrew from the 2013 CFU Club Championship citing the club's financial situation as reason to not participate in the competition. As a result, Caledonia AIA entered the competition after finishing third at the conclusion of the league season.[13]
The following changes were made since the 2010–11 season:
Note: Flags indicate national team as has been defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
| Team | Location | Stadium | Capacity | Manager | Captain | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Caledonia AIA | Morvant/Laventille | align=center | 10,000 | ||||
| Defence Force | Chaguaramas | Hasely Crawford Stadium | align=center | 27,000 | |||
| North East Stars | Sangre Grande | Sangre Grande Ground | align=center | 7,000 |  |  | |
| Police | Saint James | Hasely Crawford Stadium | align=center | 27,000 | |||
| San Juan Jabloteh | San Juan | Hasely Crawford Stadium | align=center | 27,000 | |||
| St. Ann's Rangers | San Juan | Hasely Crawford Stadium | align=center | 27,000 | |||
| T&TEC | San Fernando | Manny Ramjohn Stadium | align=center | 10,000 | |||
| W Connection | Point Lisas | Manny Ramjohn Stadium | align=center | 10,000 |  | |
See main article: List of TT Pro League managers.
| Team | Outgoing manager | Manner of departure | Date of vacancy | Table | Incoming manager | Date of appointment | Table | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| T&TEC | Promoted team | Dexter Cyrus | 9 September 2011 | Pre-season | ||||
| North East Stars | Shurland David | Sacked | 26 September 2011[18] | Emerson Alcântara | 25 October 2011[19] | |||
| St. Ann's Rangers | Anthony Streete | Sacked | 29 February 2012[20] | Dean Pacheco | 2 March 2012 | |||
| North East Stars | Emerson Alcântara | Sacked | 13 June 2012 | Angus Eve | 13 June 2012[21] | Post-season |
See also: List of top TT Pro League goal scorers by season.
| Rank | Player | Club | Goals[25] |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Richard Roy | Defence Force | |
| 2 | Willis Plaza | San Juan Jabloteh | |
| 3 | Sylvester Teesdale | T&TEC | |
| 4 | Devon Modeste | St. Ann's Rangers | |
| 5 | Devorn Jorsling | Caledonia AIA | |
| 6 | Jerrel Britto | W Connection | |
| Jamal Gay | Caledonia AIA | ||
| Ataullah Guerra | Caledonia AIA | ||
| 9 | Jason Marcano | San Juan Jabloteh | |
| Cameron Roget | St. Ann's Rangers | ||
| Hector Sam | San Juan Jabloteh / St. Ann's Rangers | ||
| Ryan Stewart | Caledonia AIA / North East Stars |
See main article: List of TT Pro League hat-tricks.
| Player | For ! | Against | Result | Date | Ref(s) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Defence Force | St. Ann's Rangers* | 1–3 | ||||
| | T&TEC | Police* | 1–6 | [26] |
The 2011–12 TT Pro League awards distribution took place on 8 April 2013, over a year after the conclusion of the league season, at Capital Plaza in Port of Spain, Trinidad.[29]
Although W Connection claimed its fourth Pro League championship, Caledonia AIA was named the Team of the Year after the Stallions of Morvant/Laventille claimed the FA Trophy, First Citizens Cup, Lucozade Sport Goal Shield, and CFU Club Championship titles. Jamaal Shabazz was named the Manager of the Year after leading Caledonia AIA to its most successful season in club history. Richard Roy of Defence Force secured his first Player of the Year honour after the Trinidad and Tobago international had a break-out season scoring 15 goals to claim the Golden Boot and Best Forward awards. Jan-Michael Williams, Nuru Abdullah Muhammad, and Ataullah Guerra were respectively named the Best Goalkeeper, Best Defender, and Best Midfielder. The remaining team award was won by W Connection for the Most Disciplined Team of the Year. FIFA international referee, Neal Brizan, won the Referee of the Year for the fifth consecutive year, whereas Boris Punch won the Match Commissioner of the Year.
| Award | Winner | |
|---|---|---|
| Player of the Year | Richard Roy (Defence Force) | |
| Manager of the Year | Jamaal Shabazz (Caledonia AIA) | |
| Best Goalkeeper | Jan-Michael Williams (W Connection) | |
| Best Defender | Nuru Abdullah Muhammad (Caledonia AIA) | |
| Best Midfielder | Ataullah Guerra (Caledonia AIA) | |
| Best Forward | Richard Roy (Defence Force) | |
| Golden Boot | Richard Roy (Defence Force) | |
| Team of the Year | Caledonia AIA | |
| Most Disciplined Team of the Year | W Connection | |
| Referee of the Year | Neal Brizan | |
| Assistant Referee of the Year | Cindy Mohammed | |
| Match Commissioner of the Year | Boris Punch |