Trinidad and Tobago Women's World Cup Soccer Coach: 'I Need HELP' With Money for Food, Equipment: Fans Immediately Pitch In

The Trinidad and Tobago women's soccer team was sent to Houston, Texas, on Tuesday to train for the 2015 Women's World Cup under the guidance of Houston Dash manager Randy Waldrum. The problem? They arrived with the clothes on their backs, $500 (total!) and nothing more. Waldrum, who is not getting paid to train the team, immediately turned to his Twitter followers for help.

I need HELP! T&T sent a team here last night with $500 total. No equipment such as balls,no transportation from airport to hotel, nothing.

— Randy Waldrum (@CoachWaldrum) October 8, 2014

I don't know how I'm going to feed these players starting at lunch today! If you know of anyone in Dallas area that will help with food, etc — Randy Waldrum (@CoachWaldrum) October 8, 2014

Please let me know asap! And I'm suppose to qualify this team for a World Cup! I have to help these players somehow..they deserve better — Randy Waldrum (@CoachWaldrum) October 8, 2014

And it didn't take long for concerned individuals to spring into action. Within a matter of six hours, Waldrum had posted a two-part update.

"The outpouring of help has been amazing!! Thank you guys so much..trying to get back to everyone now! #soccerfamily," he wrote. "The TTFA has helped us all they can, more money & staff coming today.. It's been a struggle, they have tried to help us as much as possible."

As Deadspin reports, it was unclear for a while whether the team would be able to travel to the United States at all. As of Saturday, the Trinidad and Tobago Football Association said it did not have the $40,000 it needed to process the players' visa applications. At the last minute, however, the Ministry of Sport and a government-owned oil company provided the team with the necessary funds to make it happen.

If Waldrum is successful in leading the women to the World Cup, it would be the first time in its 23-year existence that the team has made it that far.

Anyone interested in helping out the team is encouraged to reach out to Waldrum at rwaldrum@houstondynamo.com.