Not for the first time, members of the Soca Warriors were left feeling angry by the T&T Football Federation as their payment for matches played during the last six months came up short yesterday.
Already involved in a court battle with the Soca Warrior members who participated at the Fifa World Cup Finals in Germany, the T&TFF has now found itself on the wrong side of the national players’ who have represented the country in the past 13 international matches.
This was the feeling from a number of players as they collected their salaries for the matches played during the period July to December, 2010 from the Sport Company of T&T (Sportt) yesterday. It was felt the cheque made out to each player would have brought some Christmas-holiday cheer.
However, it was the total opposite as the players were astonished to discover the money they each expected was way short. Contacted for a comment, a source blamed the situation squarely on the shoulders of the local federation saying, “The T&TFF sent in the wrong figures and because of the this the Sportt decided to go with what was submitted.”
“There are some matches that players played and were not paid for in the documents sent in by the T&TFF. The source added, “I believe the total amount for payment sent in by the T&TFF was close to US$40,000 but our figures are much closer to US$195,000.
Earlier this month it was revealed in a Trinidad Guardian exclusive that members of the senior national team and its technical staff had not been paid salaries for 13 recent international matches. This was after the T&TFF had revealed that it was operating under financial constraints.
The matches run from July of this year to the Digicel Caribbean Cup Finals in Martinique which ended on December 5. During that period, the senior Soca Warriors played matches against Antigua & Barbuda (two), Jamaica (two), Belize, St Lucia, Guyana (two), St Vincent and The Grenadines, Haiti, Cuba, Grenada and Martinique.
The lone match for which the players and some staff members were paid was the away international friendly to Panama on September 7. Three days later, T&T also played away to Belize but the players were not paid.
During the 13 matches, some members of the technical staff also had to use money from their pockets to cover team expenses. Members of the technical staff have also gone close to a year without payments from the TTFF.
The Guardian learned some members of staff last received $10,000 each in September 2009 before the team was disbanded after T&T failed to qualify for the World Cup Finals. Four members of the staff, inclusive of coach Russell Latapy, manager David Muhammad, assistant manager, Peter Rampersad and Technical Director Lincoln Phillips have all been receiving monthly stipends while Latapy has not received a full salary for over a year.
When questioned on the matter earlier this month Minister of Sports and Youth Affairs, Anil Roberts said his Ministry was awaiting documentation from the T&TFF. Roberts said, “We are just awaiting the proper documentation and whatever the players are owed they would be paid in full hopefully before the holidays.”
But with only today left before Christmas Day, it seems that the Soca Warriors will now have to hope the T&TFF could bring some New-Year cheer by making the appropriate corrections to the match figures and payments.