2012 Trinidad and Tobago Charity Shield

The 2012 Trinidad and Tobago Charity Shield (known as the Digicel Charity Shield for sponsorship reasons) was the inaugural edition of the Charity Shield, which was a football match that opened the 2012–13 TT Pro League season. The match was played at Manny Ramjohn Stadium in Marabella on 8 September 2012, between the winners of the previous season's Pro League and Pro Bowl competitions. The match was contested by the 2012 Digicel Pro Bowl winners, Defence Force, and the champions of the 2011–12 Pro League, W Connection. The Savonetta Boys won the match 2–0 with goals from Shahdon Winchester and Joevin Jones, who was later named the Man of the Match.

The winners of the Charity Shield, W Connection received TT$10,000 donated to a charitable cause of choice. It was announced that the charitable cash prize would be given to the captain of W Connection, Jan-Michael Williams, to offset medical expenses for his fiancée Candice Worrell. Worrell was brutally assaulted while being relieved of her mobile phone in January 2012 and was comatose for nearly three months. Additionally, part proceeds generated from the gate receipts will also go towards introducing the "Read to Rise" Primary Literacy Program to a school within W Connection's community.

Entry
Defence Force qualified by winning the 2012 Digicel Pro Bowl, beating Caledonia AIA 5–2 in the final at Hasely Crawford Stadium. Defence Force beat San Juan Jabloteh 6–0 and T&TEC 2–0 en route to the final. The 2012 victory was the Teteron Boys' first Pro Bowl triumph and consequently gained a berth in the 2012 Digicel Charity Shield.

W Connection qualified for the inaugural Charity Shield by clinching the TT Pro League title in the 2011–12 season. W Connection made a moderate start to the league season, having trailed T&TEC by seven points following the first round conclusion. However, a rise in form in December and January meant they rose to within one point behind leaders T&TEC after the Electricity Boys recorded just two wins from seven matches in the second round of fixtures. W Connection recorded a draw against T&TEC on 23 March to remain within two points of the leaders heading into the last match day. Needing just a draw from their last league match on 29 March to be crowned champions, T&TEC fell 3–2 to Caledonia AIA after W Connection defeated Police 8–1. The league being decided by a single point was the closest finish since Joe Public and W Connection in 2006 and ensured the Savonetta Boys their second TT Pro League title and fourth top-flight league title overall since 2000.

Details

 * Man of the match
 * Joevin Jones (W Connection)


 * Match rules
 * 90 minutes
 * Penalty shoot-out if scores level after 90 minutes
 * Seven named substitutes
 * No maximum on number of substitutions