FIFA has issued a World Cup warning to the TT Football Association (TTFA), with regards to its suspension of the local governing body on September 24.
FIFA suspended the TTFA two weeks ago for grave violation of FIFA Statutes. The former TTFA executive, led by William Wallace, missed the September 23 deadline to withdraw its legal challenge to FIFA, over FIFA’s decision to remove the TTFA hierarchy, over mounting debts, and install a normalisation committee, led by Robert Hadad.
FIFA secretary general Fatma Samoura issued a letter, via e-mail, to Hadad on Tuesday, stating that the 2022 FIFA World Cup Concacaf Zone Qualifiers are set to begin in March 2021.
“The organisation of such competition entails complex logistical and operational matters intensified by the covid19 crisis,” Samoura wrote. “In view of this, FIFA has decided that, in order to ensure that proper preparation and planning of the participant teams, if the suspension imposed on the TTFA is not lifted by 6 pm Central European Time (noon TT time) on December 18, we have no choice to exclude the TTFA from participating in the Concacaf World Cup qualifiers.”
If the suspension is not lifted by December 18, T&T will be replaced by Antigua/Barbuda at the 2021 Concacaf Gold Cup qualifiers.
The normalisation committee “has necessarily ceased all operational and management functions over the TTFA” due to FIFA’s suspension of the TTFA membership.
But FIFA insisted “the only legitimate leadership of the TTFA, recognised by FIFA and Concacaf, is the one led by Hadad.”