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The credibility of the Trinidad and Tobago Football Association (TTFA) has taken another hit after an allegation that the beleagured football body sent invented quotes to media from national women’s team player Tasha St Louis, which congratulated the TTFA over its treatment of the national women footballers.

Yesterday, a TTFA press release quoted St Louis and national team manager Vernetta Flanders complimenting the organisation for its efforts during the team’s 2015 World Cup qualifying campaign.

“The FA came through for us,” said St Louis, according to a TTFA press release, “and we received more resources and payment over the last three months than we have received since over the ten years or more that I’ve been a part of the program.”

Flanders allegedly thanked the football body for paying the players before the holiday period.

“It’s been a long campaign for everyone on the team including players and staff and we wish to say thank you to the TTFA and those who ensured the players in particular were able to receive their payments before the holiday period,” Flanders allegedly told the TTFA Media. “The experience has been one of a lifetime for everyone in the team and again we appreciate the efforts of the association.”

However, Wired868 was informed that both persons privately denied conducted any such interview with TTFA press officer Shaun Fuentes or anyone else from the local football body.

“No, I didn’t do an interview,” St Louis told Wired868. “Shaun called me but I told him I was busy and he didn’t call back.”

Wired868 read out St Louis’ alleged statement and asked if those were her words. She replied in the negative.

Flanders said she heard about her supposed statement but, when asked if she gave an interview to the TTFA Media or was accurately quoted, she responded: “no comment.”

Fuentes, who sent to the release to the media, told Wired868 that he did not speak to St Louis or Flanders but claimed he received the quotes in a draft done by TTFA general secretary Sheldon Phillips.

The long-serving press officer admitted that he called St Louis but was told she was driving at the time while his second attempt to reach the player was unsuccessful. He was also unable to contact defender Arin King for a comment regarding the payment of their match fees and stipends.

Fuentes alleged that Phillips then sent him a draft press release with quotes from St Louis and Flanders. So he assumed that his boss spoke to both women.

“The release was put together by (Phillips) who said he had confirmed with the player that it was okay to use that quote,” Fuentes told Wired868. “He inserted the quote in the final draft to me and indicated that he spoke to her… He sent me a quote from both of them.”

Wired868 phoned Phillips for comment and left a message. But, up to the time of publication, he had not responded.

The allegedly faked interviews followed criticism from team captain Maylee Attin-Johnson and star attacker Kennya “Yaya” Cordner who blasted the TTFA’s tardiness in paying its players among other issues.

“To be honest, there are times when (the TTFA) was good to us,” Cordner told Wired868, “but most times when we needed them the most they were not good at all.”

At just 26 years of age, Cordner is already a three-time TTFA Women’s Player of the Year and recently became the first Caribbean player to be named on a shortlist for the CONCACAF Player of the Year award.

But, rather than call Cordner into a meeting to discuss her disenchantment, the TTFA appeared to counter her complaints by allegedly fabricatinig quotes that were credited to her teammate, St Louis, which claimed that: “The FA came through for us.”

If true, the stunt will do little for the image of the TTFA at a time when its integrity is being questioned more than ever since the depature of its former special advisor Jack Warner.

Phillips was alleged to be involved in a license fee racket, which cost taxpayers $400,000 in May. And football president Raymond Tim Kee deceived his own football executive over monies owed to coach Stephen Hart and his players and allegedly tried to hide Darren Millien’s role with the TTFA from the ExCo as well as Tourism Minister Gerald Hadeed.

St Louis’ claim suggests that the TTFA has now turned to using players as pawns to shield themselves from criticism.

Tim Kee, in response to Cordner’s suggestion that the women’s team is now dormant, said that coach Randy Waldrum had already submitted plans for 2015, which included practice games. Just minutes after the final qualifying game on December 2, Phillips also indicated that Waldrum would be kept on.

It raised the question as to whether the TTFA technical committee, which is chaired by Richard Quan Chan, is no more than a rubber stamp. It is the technical committee’s remit to gauge and recommend coaches. But, if Waldrum did send his plans for 2015 to the football body, neither Tim Kee nor Phillips bothered to forward them to Quan Chan.

“We have not had yet had a report from Randy and we will not do anything until a report from him is submitted,” Quan Chan told Wired868. “The fraternity might accept at this point that Mr Waldrum has done a good job (and) the women believe he has brought them a long way…

“Mr Waldrum is the coach of Dallas Dash and I do not know that we are in a financial position to hire a foreign coach at this time. But there will be a full discussion on his performance and what kinds of options we might have.”

RELATED NEWS

W/Warriors promised cheques tomorrow; Kennya hurt by TTFA treatment.
By Lasana Liburd (Wired868.com).


The “Women Soca Warriors” should finally collect their match fees and per diems tomorrow for their efforts in Trinidad and Tobago’s FIFA Play Off second leg clash against Ecuador on December 2.

Trinidad and Tobago Football Association (TTFA) general secretary Sheldon Phillips, according to a national women’s team member, has sent word that the players and staff can finally receive their outstanding payment.

The Warriors were promised a US$500 (TT$3,178) match fee plus a per diem of US$100 (TT$635) for their eight-day pre-match camp. The notion of a per diem is that one receives the money for use in advance—rather than two weeks later—but the players are happy to receive it at all.

Still, star attacker Kennya “Yaya” Cordner admitted that there were lingering bad feelings between the players and the TTFA administrators after an emotional and tumultuous campaign.

The Women Warriors’ 2015 World Cup drive started with neglect, as the players went almost two years without a friendly international, and climaxed with coach Randy Waldrum’s infamous tweet for help after the players left for the 2014 CONCACAF tournament in the United States with US$500 (TT$3,178) in total and no accompanying officials.

At the end, Cordner and her teammates had over 20,000 enthusiastic supporters cheering them on as they succumbed to a late Ecuador goal in their final Play Off match and there was a TT$50,000 bonus per player from the Ministry of Sport.

But the gifted attacker said the TTFA’s perceived inability to properly handle their final match fees, despite recording over TT$1.6 million from the Play Off match, summed up their treatment over the duration of the campaign.

“First we heard we were getting our payment on the weekend after the game and then the next week it was the same thing,” Cordner told Wired868. “The money they had for us was barely a scratch of the $1.6 million and we are depending on them for it and this is what we have to go through. It is as if they don’t understand or care that Christmas is coming up.”

Cordner admitted that, although there were good moments along the way, the women grew increasingly frustrated with the TTFA over the course of their ultimately unsuccessful World Cup qualifying campaign.

She revealed that, in the build-up to the decisive Play Off match, the women were at loggerheads with the TTFA over complimentary match tickets. The football body offered the players five each but the women felt it was an insult to the people who helped them along the way.

Even former head coach Marlon Charles, who steered the women for all but the final two months of their journey, was not given a ticket to watch the decisive qualifying fixture in Port of Spain.

“To be honest, there are times when (the TTFA) was good to us but most times when we needed them the most they were not good at all,” said Cordner. “They gave us five tickets (for the Ecuador match) and that was not enough because we had people outside of our families who were helping us out along the way when they were doing nothing for us…

“We had to fight and in the end they gave us five covered and five uncovered.”

Cordner recently became the first Caribbean player to be nominated for the CONCACAF Women’s Player of the Year gong. She acknowledged that the voting procedure for the award made it nearly impossible for players from tiny nations to win. However, she is honoured to be recognised at all.

“It is a big, big achievement to be named among those calibre of players,” said the 26-year-old Cordner, who is a free agent after spending the last season with Seattle Sounders in the United States’ second tier W-League. “I know 1.3 million people cannot reach the billions of voters from the US (for the prize); but just to be nominated is great because I never dreamed of something like this.”

She admitted that it was hard to get over her failed dream of a place in a senior World Cup, though.

“Almost every morning after (the loss to Ecuador) I woke up crying,” she said. “I try not to cry so much now but it will hurt for a long time. I just try to tell myself I have a lot of football left to play and God has his reasons why he didn’t want me to go through (to the World Cup) right now.”

And what happens next?

Cordner does not have a clue what is on the horizon for the Women Warriors. At present, there are no scheduled international matches on the horizon nor even a technical staff in place. The W-League starts in April while she would surely jump at an opportunity to play in the US’ top flight, National Women’s Soccer League.

She suggested that the national women players are more battle hardened after the 2015 World Cup qualifying campaign and will be more vocal about issues pertaining to the squad.

“I have been quiet for too long and I cannot be quiet anymore,” said Cordner. “We have no clue what is going on (with the national team) again. It is as if the game done and everything else done until further notice. It is just ridiculous.”

The Women Warriors have a better idea of what is necessary to succeed on the international stage now. And they are adamant that the TTFA must pull its weight to help get them there.