March 29, 2024, 07:25:14 AM

Show Posts

This section allows you to view all posts made by this member. Note that you can only see posts made in areas you currently have access to.


Messages - raj

Pages: [1] 2 3 ... 5
1
Football / Re: Judah Garcia Thread- Welcome to AEK
« on: April 27, 2021, 08:17:37 AM »
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2jBpzeHh5RM

Judah already receiving welcome, check out his video tribute. Also listed as an AEK player on Wikipedia.


2
Football / Re: Thread for T&T vs Puerto Rico Game (28-Mar-2021)
« on: March 28, 2021, 06:59:56 PM »
I agree with others who say we should be grateful for the effort in light of the situation. Match fitness is definitely lacking as some of these players are fit while others are not in playing shape(overweight). The artificial playing surface had a lot to do with the way the game was played. At least the possession was decent at times. I feel that overall we trending upwards even though slightly upwards so we should be positive and build from strength to strength.

3
Football / Re: Thread for T&T vs Guyana Game (25-Mar-2021)
« on: March 25, 2021, 07:16:06 PM »
Definitely an improvement from the last game. The goalkeeper was confident and anticipates well. He was only tested once. The defence looks decent and the midfielder Poon Angeron was good even though he almost made a lethal mistake in front of the goal. The penalty miss and the yellow cards should have Fenwick a little worried. They moved the ball well in possession. But we should remember that this was Guyana.

Standouts: Poon Angeron, Aubrey, Frederup, Phillips, Levi, Hyland, Telfer

4
Football / Re: Thread for T&T vs Guyana Game (25-Mar-2021)
« on: March 25, 2021, 05:40:07 PM »
Jones miss a penalty

5
FROM Stars and Stripe FC:

The United States Men’s National Team will welcome in a familiar foe to conclude January Camp. Today, U.S. Soccer announced that the USMNT will play Trinidad and Tobago on Sunday, January 31st at Exploria Stadium in Orlando. Kickoff is scheduled for 7:00pm ET and will be shown on FS1, UniMás, and TUDN.

The USMNT had been rumored to be in discussions with Serbia to play during this year’s January Camp. However, it appears those talks hit a snag, and the Soca Warriors stepped in as the opponent.

The last time the two teams met on the field was the group stage of the 2019 Gold Cup, where the USMNT throttled Trinidad and Tobago 6-0. Braces by Aaron Long and Gyasi Zardes, and goals by Christian Pulisic and Paul Arriola led the United States. The USMNT is 19-3-5 all-time against the Soca Warriors, and they look to begin 2021 with their 20th win against the Caribbean’s southernmost island nation.

“It’s nice after an intensive training camp to get to compete,” USMNT head coach Gregg Berhalter said in a statement released by U.S. Soccer. “The guys have been working hard and we welcome the opportunity to play against a regional rival like Trinidad and Tobago.”

6
I agree with the post. It is on point. I must say the one thing I like about Fenwick is that he admits to his errors which is a great attribute. As I stated in my earlier post it felt like a C team versus the US Olympic team. I noticed you left out Woo Ling on the list. Is he not worthy? Nice post though!!

7
Football / Re: Thread for USA vs T&T Game (31-Jan-2021)
« on: February 01, 2021, 12:42:11 PM »
If we hope to compete on the world football stage, we need to see an increased focus on the investment in football infrastructure in TT. Some of the lookout areas:

-Pro league teams should have youth academies set up from U-8 to U18 like in UE and EU and Asia.
-Youth prospects signing academy contracts should not be allowed to play SSFL. Academies compete against other academies.
-Youth prospects in these academies can be signed to move to EU or US teams when they meet signing age requirements.
- The best youths from the club academies will qualify for the TT development academy.
-Primary schools and secondary schools league (SSFL) up to U-14 should be used to secure the talent for the academies
-Strong investment needed in coaching training needed for local community teams.
-Strength and conditioning improvement needed to improve on measurable metrics. These players need to improve on speed, agility, power, strength and stamina. Players need to work on their movements and quickness. This work is normally done in gyms and performance centers. This is very costly and would be available at an academy.
-Diet and nutrition for optimal athletic performance. A professional must not be able to eat whatever they want. This knowledge and education is available at the academy.

You could change coaches every year for the next 10 years and still not be competitive unless you have a development strategy. Time for the TT Developement Academy

8
Football / Re: C team struggles
« on: February 01, 2021, 12:16:46 PM »
If GG son secured a contract at Coleraine FC in Ireland then he must be able to add value to that team. I don't think GG has connections at that club to get him a pro contract. We need to be more logical in our criticism and as noted above, the player did not even see the field. We should give this young footballer a chance.

9
Football / C team struggles
« on: January 31, 2021, 08:23:58 PM »
These USA academies producing top talent . Many signing for teams in EU. This is our C team but Muckette, Angeron and Telfer look decent . Safe trip back home for the boys! I sure hope that my judgement on Fenwick is premature. Only time will tell!

10
Football / Re: Thread for USA vs T&T Game (31-Jan-2021)
« on: January 31, 2021, 07:44:35 PM »
Fenwick start is interesting to say the least . Is he a third rate UK coach who made it big in the TT pro league against inferior teams or is he our leader for the future? Things that make you go hmmm.... Not great of a sample size but his tactical skills are lacking to say the least. He is definitely outmatched here . He can’t even carry Stephen Hart boots .

11
Football / Re: Thread for USA vs T&T Game (31-Jan-2021)
« on: January 31, 2021, 07:12:36 PM »
This is completely embarrassing. Poor coaching and overall administration on show here. We can’t even string 3 passes at a time . We got this game because Serbia could not play US because of COVID restrictions. Fenwick needs to make 5 changes at halftime .

12
Football / Re: Rundell Winchester Thread
« on: July 13, 2020, 08:24:41 AM »
OK, it appears that Hibs of Malta will be playing the Europa league after all.  :rotfl:

13
Football / Re: Rundell Winchester Thread
« on: July 12, 2020, 01:29:24 PM »
Note that its Hibernian FC of Malta and not Hibernian FC of Scotland. How did they get aways using the exact n Hibs name in Malta?

14
TrinidadGate: Fenwick, the police chief and the missing scholarship funds.
By Paul Nicholson (insideworldfootball)


England defender turned Trinidad and Tobago national team coach Terry Fenwick is again attracting attention, this time over financial dealings around his Football Factory youth school with growing suspicion that money intended for player scholarships to the UK has gone missing

The Football Factory has a deal with English ticket-to-player-to-marketing agency CatalystPSM in the UK, which ostensibly offers a pathway for players to professional football from a Sunderland base. The overseas ‘scholarships’ are paid for by the players or their sponsors – estimated at £20,000 for a year.

Fenwick told four youth players two years ago that they were lined up to go to England on scholarships with the finance being provided by sponsorship.

One parent, who spoke to Insideworldfootball, said that his son was one of the four and that for almost two years Fenwick told him that the scholarship money had not arrived, but that he was expecting it any minute and that his son should be ready to leave. At one point the parent was told by Fenwick that he had received the money only to be told later that it hadn’t arrived.

The scholarship money was to be provided from revenue from the Commissioner’s Cup, a social awareness cup for police youth clubs that received funding from corporate sponsorship and the Police Commissioner’s (Gary Griffiths) budget. Fenwick was put in charge of administrating the tournament.

To date only one player from Trinidad has been sent to England, Gary Griffiths’ son who went first to Sunderland College and the student academy there, before going on trial at little known Coleraine in Northern Ireland. He is now back in Trinidad.

Sources have told Insideworldfootball that even Griffiths – understandably a strong supporter of Fenwick – has begun asking questions privately as to what happened to the money. Yesterday the launch of the competition took place at the Police Barracks ground, Fenwick was not in attendance.

Fenwick, in his role as national team coach, has used the police ground for national training though a number of lower ranking police officers have been questioning why their ground was being used when the national team has its own training centre at the Ato Bolden Stadium.

Fenwick was appointed national team coach under the new William Wallace TTFA presidential regime in December 2019. That regime was replaced by a FIFA Normalisation Committee in March this year, though Fenwick has retained his position.

Prior to the TTFA job, Fenwick had not held a coaching position in adult football for more than six years, having returned to Trinidad after a failed stint at FC Vise in Belgium. Fenwick does not hold a recognised top level coaching license though was trumpeted as the new dawn for Trinidad and Tobago national team football on his appointment.

It has been an appointment mired in non-step controversy and allegations of fraud from helping rig the election of Wallace and the United TTFA faction to the TTFA board via forged documents of sponsorship support, to his links to another English marketing man, Peter Miller, and dubious deals with kit firm AVEC and a $50 million proposal to redevelop the Arima Velodrome.

Since his appointment Fenwick has not had a national team game but has conducted national team training, usually with youth players and with a bulk of them from his own Football Factory scheme and using Football Factory coaches, and at the police ground. Remarkably he has held his position under the FIFA Normalisation Committee led by Robert Hadad, who he is believed to have long links with.

Further reading:

Million $ questions: Fenwick, Miller, Celtic, and the abuse of Trinidad’s Jabloteh

England player, club manager…forger. Terry Fenwick implicated in Trinidad scandals


15
Football / Dwight Yorke should replace Fenwick as national team coach
« on: July 07, 2020, 07:45:17 AM »
Fenwick was a relative failure in the UK and he struggled to maintain his coaching appointments. It is obvious that Fenwick and Miller are taking advantage of the gullible united TTFA. This group needs to understand that Fenwick and Millers's colonialist and imperialist attitudes do not belong in our present day sports. They cannot get jobs in the UK so why should we line their pockets. We should raise our standards and not take UK rejects to lead our football programs. I would prefer giving Yorke or Latapy an opportunity to move our football forward. Only time will tell what Latapy will deliver for Barbados but every player and coach can improve with the passage of time. Dennis Lawrence lacked strategy and character. DL depended on his relationship with JW to keep his position. DL did not seek to increase his skillset or adapt to his competition. He may be better suited to be an assistant instead of a head coach.

Yorke is an interesting option. His football punditry and analysis seems in tuned with the game and its evolution. He seems to be more modern than the old school Fenwick. He worked hard as a player and was able to realize tremendous success. I know that this is no guarantee for success.

I would suggest investing in local coaching prospects. Getting them certified and trained with FIFA credentials will only bode well for the local game. We need to raise up our people instead of constantly pushing them down. The 4 best coaches TT every had were Beenhakker, St Clair, Gally Cummings and Hart. 3 of these are Trinidadian. The major issues with the TT players are strength and conditioning, performance based nutrition and mental training(boosting and maintaining confidence while overcoming adversity).

Why not give Yorke a chance when no one else wants to give him a chance?

16
FIFA's impending ban for Trinidad is near. For the overall good of our program, I believe that William Wallace should begin to negotiate with FIFA. We need a win-win situation for the future of football in Trinidad. Sometimes falling on the sword for the greater good is the best strategic option. Wallace et al can try for re-election after normalization. A FIFA ban will hurt an already compromised program and put us behind 20 years. Very sad to say but this is reality!

17
How does the appointment of this normalization committee affect the present situation ? Does all the work and strategic planning done by the ousted TTFA administration become null and void? Are all the coaching appointments from senior team to U-15 cancelled and no longer in effect with the new committee charged with naming replacements? Also, what about the player identification programs in place for UK, US and Rest of World for prospective players. I have not seen any discussions on this at all. What gives?

18
CAFCECAFA
FIFA’s normalization committees – what are they and how do they work?
29th October 2018  Michael Smith Mugote  No Comments
Whilst FIFA has been a topic of discussion over recent years for a variety of reasons, FIFA’s powers to intervene in its member associations’ governance receives little attention. Such powers are exercised by imposing “normalization committees” on member associations that FIFA determines are not complying with the FIFA Statutes (the Statutes).

Out of FIFA’s 211 members, a number of associations have recent or current experience of normalization committee intervention – Kuwait, Guinea, Guatemala, Greece, Argentina, Thailand, Mali and Benin to name a few. In the last two months, normalization committees have been appointed in Ghana1 and Uruguay2 and the mandate of the Cameroonian Football Association’s normalization committee has been extended from February 2018 to 16 December 2018

 

FIFA has also recently released a statement regarding the suspension of the Sierra Leon Football Association following government interference in the organisation and administration of the nation’s football association following allegations of wrongdoing and corruption against the president and General Secretary. It is not clear if a normalisation committee will be appointed for Sierra Leone and FIFA plans to await the outcome of the trial against the President before decided on any further action

In light of this, this article analyses the role of FIFA’s normalisation committees. Specifically, it looks at; When FIFA is entitled to intervene, circumstances in which FIFA has intervened, how normalization committees are constituted, the scope of their powers, what happens if there are disputes, key examples of normalization committees, comparisons with other sports, legitimacy of FIFA’s interventions

When is FIFA entitled to intervene?

FIFA’s power to intervene is derived from the Statutes.

Article 8 provides that:

“All bodies and officials must observe the Statutes, regulations, decisions and Code of Ethics of FIFA in their activities.

Executive bodies of member associations may under exceptional circumstances be removed from office by the Council in consultation with the relevant confederation and replaced by  the normalization committee for a specific period of time.

Every person and organization involved in the game of football is obliged to observe the statutes and regulations of FIFA as well as the principles of fair play.

The exceptional circumstances in which FIFA may intervene are not clearly defined but tend to involve a member association’s failure to ‘manage their affairs independently and ensure that their own affairs are not influenced by any third parties’ even where such influence is not the fault of the member association. Furthermore, member associations are required to comply with the principles of good governance, including but not limited to political and religious neutrality, prohibition of discrimination, and judicial independence10.
The appointment of a normalisation committee is regarded as a last resort, when FIFA considers that the domestic governance of the game has irretrievably broken down. The constitution of a normalisation committee usually follows the suspension of a member association by the Council, where that member association is unable to confirm that it has demonstrated that it is able to comply with the requisite principles of good governance.

Whilst suspended, a member association loses all of its membership rights as defined in Article 13 of the statutes, and national and affiliated club teams are not entitled to take part in international competitions until the suspension is lifted. Other member associations are also not permitted to have sporting contact with the member association during its suspension.

Circumstances in which FIFA has intervened

FIFA appointed a normalization committee for the Kuwait Football Association (KFA) on 18 January 2018 following a 2015 suspension for alleged government interference in the affairs of the KFA. Similarly, FIFA intervened in Mali’s Football Association (FEMAFOOT) for government interference after the Mali Sports Minister dissolved the executive committee of FEMAFOOT.
In the case of the Football Association of Thailand (FAT), the executive committee was removed following a ban to the FAT’s president for a breach to FIFA’s Code of Ethics. He was given a suspended 16-month sentence by a Thai court for falsifying documents to amend the FAT statutes ahead of the FAT’s presidential election. A normalization committee was set up in 2015.

FIFA intervened in the governance of the Uruguayan Football Association after the sudden resignation of its president in July 2018. His resignation followed the release of compromising audio recordings, the content of which is unknown (although there are some suggestions that these recordings contained comments about sports administrators, a member of the government and sports journalists). FIFA’s intervention was based on the lack of guarantees for the electoral process. The normalization committee for the Ghanian Football Association was appointed following similar concerns regarding breaches of ethics in the member association and government interference.

Constitution of normalization committees

Normalisation committees are composed of an adequate number of members identified by FIFA and the relevant confederation and stakeholders. What is viewed as an adequate number of members varies, and normalization committees have been composed of three members in Uruguay, four in Ghana, and six in Thailand by way of some examples.
Members of normalisation committees are not required to have any particular skill-sets, but it is usually the case that members hail from the country in which the national association is based. Normalization committees tend to be made up of members from different backgrounds, albeit with some knowledge or experience of football and financial and legal affairs.

For example, the three members of the Uruguayan Football Association’s normalization committee include a member of the FIFA Governance Committee, a former executive of one of Uruguay’s top clubs, and an economist (the former Secretary of Economic and Financial Affairs at the Uruguayan Football Association). The four members of the Ghanaian Football Association’s normalisation committee include a well-connected businessman known for sponsorship deals for Ghanaian football clubs, a former CEO of a telecommunication network, a lawyer, and a former board member of a Ghanaian football club.

The members of the normalization committee are then confirmed by FIFA’s Bureau of the Council (which deals with all matters requiring immediate attention between two meetings of the Council). FIFA retains the right to add or remove any members of the normalisation committee as it sees fit.

All members of the normalization committee are required to pass an eligibility test in accordance with the Statutes and the FIFA Governance Regulations, which is conducted by the FIFA Review Committee. FIFA describes the content of such eligibility checks as open-ended and vague which require clarification on a case-by-case basis. FIFA aims to make their application as objective and certain as possible. In conducting these checks, the Review Committee has been mindful of the guidelines stemming from decisions taken by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) in a small number of cases relevant to the conducting of integrity checks. Standards vary depending on the position for which the eligibility checks are applied, as the CAS has held that the integrity check is an abstract test to assess whether a person is perceived to be a person of integrity for the function at stake. As such, a direct violation of the FIFA Code of Ethics is no prerequisite to a person not passing the integrity check. However, a history of financial impropriety and an involvement in national or local government are severely frowned upon by FIFA.

It is worth noting that the Review Committee does not have any investigatory powers and makes a decision based on the information available to it at the time.

Scope of Powers

The normalisation committee takes over the day-to-day running of the member association whilst drafting new statutes and policies for the association that adhere to the FIFA Statutes and the relevant national law. The new statutes must contain, at a minimum, provisions relating to neutrality in politics and religion, prohibition of discrimination, independence from any political interference, judicial independence and respect of the Laws of the Game.
The normalization committee also organizes and conducts elections for a new executive committee. None of the members of the normalization committee are able to run for any of the vacant positions in the elections. Members of the existing executive committee are required to vacate their posts whilst the normalization committee undergoes its work. If they wish to take up positions in the new executive committee, they are expected to contest the positions in the elections organized by the normalization committee. Potential candidates for the executive committee are required to undergo integrity checks as per the FIFA Code of Ethics, regardless of their previous position, which is carried out by the FIFA Review Committee using the same guidelines as set out above.

FIFA can continue to monitor the member association’s progress by way of a monitoring committee, implemented on a case-by-case basis. The normalization committee remains in place for a specified period of time and will disband when all the required tasks are complete. FIFA has the discretion to extend the relevant period of time for as long as it is required, as in the case of Cameroonian Football Association (FECAFOOT).

It was announced in September 2018 that FECAFOOT’s normalisation committee was making good progress but that certain important tasks had not been completed. Notably, the adoption of statutes ensuring compliance with the Statutes had not been completed, nor had the organization of elections for the new executive committee taken place. As a result, the Bureau of the Council viewed an extension to the normalization committee’s mandate until December 16, 2018 as necessary. There is no limit as to how many times FIFA can extend a normalization committee’s mandate, although it expects the normalization committee to provide a roadmap so that the mandate can be fulfilled in the time provided to it. Similarly, the normalization committee for FEMAFOOT (the Mali Football Association) was extended to October 31, 2018 so that the key aims of revising the statutes, setting up the judicial and conducting transparent elections could be met.

What happens if the member association disputes the appointment?

There are no easily available records of member associations challenging the appointment of a normalisation committee. The Statutes provide that confederations, member associations and leagues shall agree to comply fully with any decision passed by the relevant FIFA bodies which, according to these Statutes, are final and not subject to appeal. Further, member associations are obliged to comply fully with the decisions of FIFA bodies at any time.
Some member associations have attempted to challenge the appointment of a normalisation committee through local judicial means. FIFA tends to respond to these sorts of challenges by promptly suspending the member association until the election of a new executive committee is conducted. For example, FIFA suspended the Benin Football Association (FBF) after a local judicial court approved an injunction to impede the holding of the 2016 presidential election, despite the FBF being overseen by a normalization committee since September 2015.

Member associations have been willing to appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) on a number of matters involving FIFA, including audit orders (in the case of the Ivory Coast Football Federation) and membership. However, the outcome of such an appeal would be difficult to predict. Whilst the CAS has upheld appeals against FIFA in cases such as the Gibraltar Football Association’s application for FIFA membership, it has also shown a willingness to approve a sports governing body’s intervention in governance matters where necessary – for example the suspension by the IAAF of the All Russia Athletics Federation from IAAF membership35. Any appeal to the CAS would most likely turn on its facts.

Past examples

Whilst normalization committees can achieve FIFA’s desired outcome, there are notable examples which open the process up to criticism for being largely ineffective and for preserving the status quo rather than revitalizing the situation.
The example of Guinea demonstrates how smoothly the normalization committee process is supposed to run, with a relatively quick and positive outcome. Guinea had a normalization committee imposed on it by FIFA in April 2016 following internal wrangles which brought all football competitions in the country to a halt. The normalization committee completed its task 11 months later, with the adoption of a new constitution and the election of a new president in March 201737.

The case of the Hellenic Football Federation (HFF) is particularly dramatic. FIFA intervened in October 2016 following extensive governance issues including the Greek Sports Ministry’s cancellation of the Greek Cup final in 2016 as well as the postponement of the 2016-2017 season due to a dispute between Greece’s football clubs, the HFF and the government over the selection of referees. FIFA established a normalization committee in October 2016. Elections were held in August 2017, despite threats and an alleged arson attack. The new executive committee is still monitored by FIFA. The normalization committee was criticized for its inclusion of some individuals who could be deemed to have a conflict of interest and links have also been drawn between those implicated in match-fixing cases and their potential influence over referee appointments. It has also been reported that as many as 75% of second-tier games in Greece are showing signs of match-fixing.

The Argentine Football Association was largely leaderless until Luis Segura became president after a suspicious 38-38 vote by a 75 person Congress. Segura was later charged by US authorities with fraudulent administration and FIFA set up a normalization committee in July 2016, which was plagued with issues including a players’ strike for non-payment and postponement of the Argentinian league. Many have criticized the new executive committee. The new President is a former president of a Third Division football club and is joined on the board by the presidents of Boca Juniors and of Independiente. People have unsurprisingly questioned the suitability of the new board members.

Comparisons with other sports

FIFA is not the only organization in pursuit of good governance and it can be suggested that FIFA’s actions complement the wider change of attitude towards governance issues in sport.
Other sports governing bodies have taken steps to intervene where serious issues over governance have been raised – see for example the unprecedented decision in December 2017 by the IOC to withdraw funding from the Association of International Boxing Associations (AIBA). The approach taken by the IOC was different to that taken by FIFA insofar as the IOC suspended funding until it was satisfied that the AIBA had demonstrated sufficient compliance and the IOC has not (yet) stepped into the organization of the AIBA’s affairs.

The IOC has placed other federations under similar scrutinies, such as the International Weightlifting Federation and the International Biathlon Union. Parallels can also be drawn between FIFA’s actions and the IAAF’s decision not to reinstate the Russian Athletics Federation’s membership, yet these governing bodies have not gone as far as FIFA in respect of direct intervention.

Legitimacy of intervention

The protection of the integrity of the game is of utmost importance to FIFA particularly at a time of significant scrutiny (and reform) of its own governance. FIFA’s own governance is in the process of changing, but many have noted that the 2016 reforms did not go far enough – with standards falling far short of those expected of a UK listed company. Whilst normalization committees often have the desired effect of bringing a member association’s governance in line with FIFA’s expectations, the difficulties lie in the determination of what good governance is in the context of a truly global sport.
Further, given the integrity issues historically faced by FIFA, questions could be raised regarding the organization’s role as moral arbiter – perhaps an independent body would be more effective in decisions such as these.

The establishment of a global independent body as a method of oversight of regulatory and governance affairs would be an admirable aim, however, the hurdles of doing so are unlikely to be overcome any time soon. Any independent body would first face the challenge of obtaining sufficient funding to conduct such wide-ranging and extensive work. There would need to be agreement from FIFA’s 211 members as to the mandate of the independent body and people of sufficient expertise would have to be appointed to carry out that mandate. How these independent people would be chosen and the integrity standard to which they would be held is another area of contention – including the question of whether they would be subject to the same integrity checks as currently imposed by FIFA. As we have seen, global governing bodies such as WADA are not immune to criticism, despite broadly being seen as the legitimate and authoritative body for matters within their scope of expertise.

To FIFA’s credit, its assertion of authority over the governance of its member associations cannot be questioned. FIFA has certainly not been afraid to flex its muscles in ensuring its authority is not undermined. For example, a normalization committee was imposed on the Guatemalan Football Association (FEDEFUT) in December 2015 but FIFA announced in 2016 that it was no longer able to operate after a FEDFUT general assembly rejected the normalization committee’s mandate. FIFA promptly responded to this by suspending FEDEFUT. A joint FIFA and CONCACAF mission visited Guatemala and took the decision in May 2018 to appoint another normalization committee. The Chairman of this committee wrote to FIFA confirming that the normalization committee was fully operational. Given the history of normalization committees in FEDEFUT, FIFA took the decision to appoint an International Steering Committee to oversee and monitor the implementation of the normalization committee’s mandate. If this was challenged by FEDEFUT, it would be automatically suspended once again.

Conclusion

These examples of intervention should serve as a stark warning of the significant consequences of corruption within football. FIFA is willing to step into member associations when it considers its position is being undermined, with the suspension of (and subsequent imposition of a normalization committee on) the member association a very likely consequence.
FIFA provides global rules which must be universally applied. These rules were not designed for the purpose of a single situation, which creates challenging situations when applying specific rules to hundreds of countries around the world, each with different ideas of standards of governance. The regulations put in place by FIFA are binding and must be observed at all times by every member association. The compulsory nature of the FIFA regulations flows from the need for FIFA to be able to achieve its objectives as set out in the Statutes.

Although individuals will have varying opinions on FIFA itself, normalization committees have been effective in a number of cases and continue to work as a method of implementation of good governance. Whilst the use of an independent body would be desirable, the status quo is working and FIFA remains the only organization with sufficient authority to enforce such action. FIFA must, however, be alive to criticism in acknowledging its failures and be prepared to monitor member associations, scrutinize the appointments of committee members, and keep a watchful eye over the suitability of candidates for executive committee positions

19
Football / Petition for reinstating TTFA
« on: March 18, 2020, 07:02:12 PM »

20
Football / guardian article by Keith Clement- interesting read
« on: February 13, 2020, 10:38:06 PM »
Since com­ing in­to of­fice with over­whelm­ing pub­lic sup­port the ‘Unit­ed TTFA’ (T&T Foot­ball As­so­ci­a­tion), led by William Wal­lace, has set about to sat­is­fy the tech­ni­cal re­quire­ments that are ex­pect­ed to move T&T foot­ball in­stant­ly and even­tu­al­ly in­to the fu­ture but at what price or con­se­quences?

The ‘Unit­ed TTFA’ has to date, ap­point­ed a 35-mem­ber tech­ni­cal staff (for se­nior men’s and women’s; ju­nior teams; beach soc­cer; tech­ni­cal di­rec­tor; and ful­fil the tech­ni­cal re­quire­ments in every de­part­ment of each team), to­geth­er with new ad­min­is­tra­tive per­son­nel at a cost which the lead­er­ship of the sport is yet to pro­vide John Pub­lic with as it re­lates to an es­ti­mat­ed month­ly or an­nu­al cost of this mas­sive un­der­tak­ing for the first time in the 112-year his­to­ry of T&T foot­ball.

Five days in­to his tenure, Wal­lace told John Pub­lic that the or­gan­i­sa­tion has TT$50 mil­lion worth of prob­lems (mean­ing a debt of TT$50 mil­lion). Co­in­ci­den­tal­ly, at the end of 2018, the TTFA as­sets stood at TT$64,292 mil­lion.

There were promis­es made to John Pub­lic by the ‘Unit­ed TTFA’ dur­ing its cam­paign trail lead­ing up to the No­vem­ber 24, 2019, an­nu­al gen­er­al meet­ing (AGM) in which Wal­lace in­di­cat­ed that over $30 mil­lion in spon­sor­ship was said to be on the hori­zon from sev­er­al com­pa­nies in the likes of Amer­i­can sport­ing goods gi­ant, NIKE.

To date, noth­ing has ma­te­ri­alised to demon­strate that there’s cash flow to cov­er the new coach­ing con­tacts hand­ed out, far less those that are ex­ist­ing and the re­cent ter­mi­na­tion of for­mer na­tion­al coach Den­nis Lawrence. He was fired back on De­cem­ber 15.

Even more trou­bling about the ‘Unit­ed TTFA” fi­nan­cial po­si­tion, is the fact that of the US$1,000,000 (TT$6.76M) giv­en an­nu­al­ly by FI­FA to all its mem­bers in two tranch­es of US$500,000, the ‘New TTFA’ is like­ly to start with a deficit of US$100,000 which the FI­FA will like­ly deduct in the same fash­ion it did as in 2019, to cov­er a 2010 TTFA debt to FI­FA val­ued at US$240,000.

For the “Unit­ed TTFA” to be guar­an­teed the oth­er US$500,000 it must first spend on de­vel­op­ment pro­grammes and youth teams and then prove to the FI­FA how the mon­ey was spent in or­der to re­claim it.

Here’s the present fi­nan­cial po­si­tion of the ‘Unit­ed TTFA’.

Fol­low­ing the for­tunes of the TTFA over the past sev­er­al years but more im­por­tan­ly, the last five, dur­ing which time John Pub­lic has wit­nessed the chang­ing of two pres­i­dents or in fact, two ad­min­is­tra­tions. This ar­ti­cle was prompt­ed fol­low­ing an email sent to the tech­ni­cal staff of var­i­ous na­tion­al teams by the ‘Unit­ed TTFA’ gen­er­al sec­re­tary and for­mer FI­FA ref­er­ee Ramesh Ramd­han.

The email read:

“I feel ob­lig­at­ed to share our fi­nan­cial chal­lenges with you. There are those who feel that this should have been done soon­er, how­ev­er, I have been tire­less­ly work­ing with FI­FA and our al­lies abroad hope­ful for an ear­ly res­o­lu­tion to this is­sue. De­spite all the ef­forts over the last month, we are still not where I would like it to be.

“As ear­ly as 3 am I was send­ing off one of many let­ters to FI­FA in re­sponse to their queries about ex­or­bi­tant costs of our tech­ni­cal staff. I trust that I will be able to sat­is­fy them. In the mean­time, I ask for your pa­tience and your un­der­stand­ing with re­gard to the non-pay­ment of your salaries for the last month and for some, the last two months.

“I am hope­ful that the sit­u­a­tion will be re­solved soon as I ask you to keep the faith and con­tin­ue to work with us. To­geth­er we as­pire, to­geth­er we achieve.”

Thanks for your un­der­stand­ing

GS

TTFA ac­cu­rals

Here is a quick sum­ma­ry of the debt of the TTFA and the in­come streams that are avail­able to the as­so­ci­a­tion at present.

In the 2018 au­dit­ed fi­nan­cial state­ments of the as­so­ci­a­tion which were ap­proved by its mem­bers showed a to­tal debt of TT$32,770,079 (US$4,891,000) which com­prised of ac­counts payable of TT$22,414,430 (US$3,345,400) and ac­cru­als and in­ter­est of TT$10,355,649 (US$1,546,000).

For the read­ers who do not know what ac­cru­als mean in a fi­nan­cial state­ment, it is a pro­vi­sion for pos­si­ble le­gal and oth­er claims against the as­so­ci­a­tion, if the as­so­ci­a­tion is un­suc­cess­ful in de­fend­ing or re­fut­ing the claims. In late 2019, for­mer head coach Stephen Hart (US$750,000) and for­mer tech­ni­cal di­rec­tor Kendell Walkes (US$800,000) won judge­ments against the FA to­talling about US$1,550,000.

These amounts would have been al­most to­tal­ly cov­ered by the pro­vi­sion made in ac­cru­als thus the debt would not have in­creased.

For­mer tech­ni­cal di­rec­tor An­ton Corneal al­so got a judge­ment against the TTFA for some US$507,000, how­ev­er, his fig­ure was al­ready in­clud­ed in the ac­counts payable of the TTFA. What will be of in­ter­est in the fu­ture is the out­come of for­mer vice pres­i­dent of FI­FA and pres­i­dent of Con­ca­caf Jack Warn­er’s claim against the TTFA for US$3.3 mil­lion which there have been no pro­vi­sions made in the TTFA ac­counts.

TTFA debt—yoke around the neck of the TTFA

For­mer pres­i­dent David John-Williams dur­ing his tenure com­plained about the large debt of the as­so­ci­a­tion which his ad­min­is­tra­tion in­her­it­ed and he said that this was like a “yoke around the neck of the TTFA”. He said on sev­er­al oc­ca­sions that the TTFA in its cur­rent state can­not af­ford to sup­port all 11 na­tion­al teams. The last ad­min­is­tra­tion had coach­es dou­bling up with teams to cut cost.

Case in point, Stu­art Charles Fevri­er and Stern John, who served as as­sis­tant coach­es with the se­nior team and were head coach­es of T&T youth teams. The for­mer ad­min­is­tra­tion was “be­ing re­al”.

The re­cent sack­ing of Lawrence and Fevri­er by the Unit­ed TTFA ad­min­is­tra­tion comes at a price. Both had at least 18 months left on their con­tracts and at an es­ti­mate of US$12,000 per month (the com­bined salary for both of them) then that’s at least US$216,000 to be paid to set­tle their con­tracts plus what­ev­er in­ter­est is ac­crued, as well as costs if ap­plic­a­ble to be paid.

Are all these
ap­point­ments need­ed?

With re­gards to Unit­ed TTFA swift move to fill tech­ni­cal po­si­tions on all na­tion­al teams, John Pub­lic may agree that that is the way to go in a per­fect world but does the present fi­nan­cial po­si­tion of the Unit­ed TTFA fi­nances al­low for such ‘re­al­ness’?

Let us now ex­am­ine the pos­si­ble es­ti­mat­ed cost of these ap­point­ments. Ter­ry Fen­wick US$18,000 per month, his as­sis­tant Derek King US$5,000 per month be­cause he is al­so the head coach of the Un­der- 20 men’s team and let us add an­oth­er US$10,000 per month for the rest of the four mem­bers of the men’s se­nior team tech­ni­cal staff which is es­ti­mat­ed at a to­tal of US$396,000 per year.

Women’s U-20 and U-17 is es­ti­mat­ed at US$10,000 per month and the pro­ject­ed es­ti­mates are for on­ly five months (up to the end of the tour­na­ments) that is an­oth­er US$50,000 for the year. The Boy’s U-20 is es­ti­mat­ed at an­oth­er US$7,000 per month for the rest of the staff out­side of and this is for six months, that’s an­oth­er US$42,000 for the year.

The boy’s U-15 and U-17 is es­ti­mat­ed at US$20,000 per month for the com­plete staff and fut­sal teams and that is for six months that is adding an­oth­er US$120,000 per year.

In ad­di­tion to the above, there’s the di­rec­tor of the se­nior men’s team US$6,000 per month, the Com­pli­ance and Club Li­cenc­ing Man­ag­er and the women’s na­tion­al team di­rec­tor. This adds an­oth­er US$72,000.

As­sum­ing all are full-time ap­point­ments, the Unit­ed TTFA will have to find US$680,000 per year.

Fund­ing un­der the FI­FA For­ward 2.0 pro­gramme

The TTFA is en­ti­tled to US$1,000,000 un­der FI­FA For­ward 2.0 pro­gramme (2019 to 2022).

The TTFA wil get US$500,000 for op­er­a­tions cost per year which is nor­mal­ly re­ceived in Jan­u­ary of the new year. This is to cov­er costs like pay­ment to the gen­er­al sec­re­tary, fi­nance man­ag­er, tech­ni­cal di­rec­tor, head of ref­er­ees de­part­ment TMS man­ag­er, all oth­er of­fice and op­er­a­tional staff, phone, in­ter­net, func­tions, meet­ings, cours­es and all oth­er cost as­so­ci­at­ed with op­er­a­tions for the year. Then they are en­ti­tled to an­oth­er US$500,000 in the sec­ond part of the year but to re­ceive this amount the TTFA must achieve 10 KPIs (key per­for­mance in­di­ca­tors) each worth US$50,000.

Ba­si­cal­ly, the TTFA needs to spend to gain this sum. They are al­so en­ti­tled to US$200,000 per year to cov­er costs of over­seas trav­el and ho­tel ac­com­mo­da­tion for all na­tion­al teams. (Note in the 2018 Fi­nan­cial State­ments over­seas trav­el and ho­tel ac­com­mo­da­tion amount­ed to US$482,000 with trav­el alone be­ing US$250,000)

Ad­di­tion­al­ly, there is al­so a loan on the TTFA books of over US$600,000 for Con­ca­caf as re­port­ed in the 2018 Fi­nan­cial State­ments which was used by the for­mer ad­min­is­tra­tion to as­sist in the 2018 World Cup Qual­i­fy­ing cam­paign. This loan has ma­tured and needs to be re­paid.

Ques­tions to the TTFA are as fol­lows.

Where is the mon­ey com­ing from, to first ser­vice the deficit cre­at­ed by all these new ap­point­ments?

Where is the mon­ey com­ing from to pay sacked Lawrence and oth­ers?

Where is the mon­ey com­ing from to ser­vice the large debt of the TTFA?

The for­mer ad­min­is­tra­tion has boast­ed about In­come Gen­er­a­tion Project and the Home of Foot­ball both of which the Unit­ed TTFA closed dur­ing its first week in of­fice claim­ing that it did not meet sev­er­al reg­u­la­to­ry stan­dards.

So with all these ap­point­ments which car­ry a heavy pay­roll and with no spon­sors an­nounced to date, does this mean that the ‘Unit­ed TTFA’ ap­pears to be im­pru­dent with its ‘re­al’ fi­nan­cial po­si­tion.

What is the TTFA ac­tion plan to earn rev­enue as soon as pos­si­ble.

Ed­i­tor’ note: ‘In­sol­vent’ means — un­able to pay debts owed.

21
Football / Re: Dennis Lawrence Thread
« on: February 08, 2020, 03:42:56 PM »
Point well taken LOL. I ran into that .

22
Football / Re: Dennis Lawrence Thread
« on: February 08, 2020, 03:25:03 PM »
If there was a legally binding agreement for compensation due to early contract termination then DL should be rightfully compensated. It would be sad to see the same lack of professionalism from this administration which was demonstrated with the last. This is pretty common for these type of events. Based on this development,  I remain a little skeptical of this new regime.

23
Football / Re: Scouting for Soca Warriors, the Thread.
« on: February 02, 2020, 03:16:03 PM »
Here are the teams and age of these players:

Ryan Inniss- England League 2 Newport County on loan from Crystal Palace, 24
Desevio Payne-Holland Eridivisie - FC Emmen, 24
Noah Powder- USL Monarchs, 21
Rory McKenzie- Scottish Premier Kilmarnock , 26
Greg Ranjitsingh- MLS Minnesota United, 26
Nick DeLeon-MLS Toronto, 29
Shannon Gomez - USL  Sacramento, 23
John Bostock- Nottingham Forest Div 1 on loan from Toulouse, 28
Kenrick Williams- Canada provincial league, 19
Panagiotis Nakhid - Belgium URSL 3rd div- 25
Daniel Phillips- Premier League Watford U23, 19


24
Football / Re: Jadon Sancho ONE TO WATCH
« on: September 09, 2017, 08:40:14 PM »

25
Football / Re: Freddy Adu Thread
« on: August 01, 2017, 08:30:24 PM »
FROM ESPN:
Freddy Adu rules out Polish club move after manager labels transfer 'a joke'

Freddy Adu
Freddy Adu has been without a club since being released by Tampa Bay Rowdies in 2016.
Former U.S. international Freddy Adu has pulled out of a move to Polish team Sandecja Nowy Sacz, after their manager called the transfer "a joke."

Adu, 28, was regarded as one of the game's brightest talents as a teenager but has since struggled to establish himself, playing for 13 different clubs in eight different countries.

Sandecja, however, will not be added to that list, with Adu taking to Twitter in a series of tweets to explain his situation.

 Follow
Freddy Adu ✔ @FreddyAdu
Just wanted to let everyone know that I will not be signing with sandecja. I have been in a situation like this before in Monaco and it ...
4:31 PM - Aug 1, 2017
 20 20 Replies   55 55 Retweets   81 81 likes
Twitter Ads info and privacy
"Just wanted to let everyone know that I will not be signing with Sandecja. I have been in a situation like this before in Monaco and it ended badly," he said.

"I havnt had a chance to train or do anything with the team but I have to find the best situation for my career.

"It is important to have everyone on board before signing and that's not the case here so I've decided to wait for a better situation!

"Thanks for the continued support!

"In the past I would sign and never get a chance to play. I do not want to make that mistake again!

"Some people might try and spin this as a bad thing but I see it as a good decision because I do not want to be in the middle of this!

"Definition of insanity is when you keep doing the same thing and expecting different results. At some point you gotta learn from mistakes!

"Just when you think you have seen it all!!! Man lol it feels like I can't catch a break! Was excited about the opportunity but it wasn't meant to be. Hopefully a better opp comes!

"I've been used by too many people over the years for publicity and exposure and I am determined not to let that happen anymore!"

Earlier on Tuesday, manager Radoslaw Mroczkowski said he was not happy about the prospect of Adu joining the club.

"It's a joke," Mroczkowski told Polish website Sportowefakty.pl. "I read in the media about his trial. I asked the sporting director [Arkadiusz Alexander] why he did not tell me anything [about Adu]. After all, he sent me a text message that there 'will be a player on trial' and that they all knew. Marketing knew, the staff at the club knew... Only the coach did not know who the trialist was."

But Mroczkowski added: "Whoever invited him, let him trial him. What is the point of having such a player? The CEO says that it's marketing. We may as well have Janusz Chomontek [a Polish football freestyler]."

According to Sportowefakty.pl, Sandecja had wanted to sign Adu in the winter, but Mroczkowski did not approve of the move.

Adu, who has been without a club since being released by NASL side Tampa Bay Rowdies in 2016, was on trial with Portland Timbers earlier this year but failed to win a contract with the MLS club.

26
Football / Re: Stern John Thread
« on: March 11, 2017, 08:45:05 AM »
Condolences to Stern and the John family. Truly sad and difficult time for all. May God shine his light on the family in this difficult time! Blessings!

27
Football / Re: Freddy Adu Thread
« on: February 12, 2017, 04:32:17 PM »
http://www.byfarthegreatestteam.com/posts/much-adu-nothing/

Posted By: Lee Spencer February 12, 2017
Back in 2004 there was a lot of noise from America, as D.C. United had signed an unknown 14-year-old in the MLS Super Draft. Fast forward three months and the same young player made his debut, becoming the youngest ever to play in the MLS. Two weeks later, another record broken as he became the youngest ever player to score in the MLS.
Here was a player who was already being touted as a United States future star. Mentions of being the next Pele seemed farfetched, but for those that had watched him he seemed the real deal.
Yet for a player that had the world at his feet, young Fredua Koranteng Adu became a journeyman of the footballing world. For those with a Football Manager background this name will mean a lot. For those who haven’t played the game, this is the story of potential super star and his dramatic fall. The young American was Freddy Adu.
In his first season, he appeared in all 30 games for D.C. United, although many were as a substitute, but as first seasons go it was a decent start. His second season he was even invited over for a trial with Manchester United, although they decided not to take on the young American.
That season however, Adu started in majority of the games for D.C. United with Adu now playing in midfield. At the end of the season he was traded to Real Salt Lake. Then, after three seasons in the MLS and having scored 11 in 87 appearances for D.C. United and 1 goal in 11 for Real Salt Lake, Benfica secured the rights from the MLS for a fee of 2 million dollars in 2007.
Finally, Adu had his big money move to Europe, albeit in the Portuguese league. Benfica were playing Champions League football, which was Adu’s dream. and he made his debut against Copenhagen in the qualifying match.
The move soon turned sour as the following season Adu was loaned out to Monaco, the French Ligue 1 club. Monaco had the option to buy him at the end of the season long loan, but Monaco turned down the chance to sign him.
Next came another season loan to Portuguese club Belenenses. Adu got injured on his first league start they quickly ended his season long loan. In 2010 another season loan came about, this time to Greek side Aris. Adu played 5 times and scored once during his time in Greece but the season didn’t work out well.
His final year with Benfica was again spent on loan, this time with Turkish second division club Caykur Rizespor where Adu played between the first team and the second team. Again, he returned to Benfica, who had seen enough.
In August 2011 he was back playing in the MLS, as he signed for Philadelphia Union. After two season,s having scored only 7 times in 35 matches, he found himself in a swap deal. Kleberson moved to Philadelphia Union and Adu moved to Brazilian club Bahia. He lasted 7 months before being released by the club.
Then came trials all over Europe for Freddy. In 2014 he even started training with Blackpool, however he failed to impress the club and they decided against offering him a contract.
Adu finally signed for Jagodina on a 6 month contract. After one appearance, the Serbian club decided not to renew his contract. Next came KuPS in 2015, he lasted 4 months before leaving the club.
His final club was Tampa Bay Rowdies. Adu played for the Rowdies for two seasons in the North American Soccer League. His contract expired in December 2016 with Adu citing to be sorting things out and hoping to take the next step soon.
More recently however he had a trial with Portland Timbers in 2017 but once again a contract failed to materialize, apparently he had not done enough to warrant a contract.
Adu is the first to admit he never dedicated his time to the sport. He openly admits his career failing is down to him.
Yes, he has had some bumps along the way. Not being paid by Serbian club Jagodina and Bahia in Brazil has not helped. Yet even earning a move to Philadelphia Union, with a large contract, Adu still was unable to stay focused with too many distractions.
Of course at 27 time is still on his side, just. But he needs to find his way soon as well as a new club.
Freddy Adu always had the talent just unfortunately not the commitment to make it to the top. Maybe someone, somewhere, will take one final gamble at the player people dubbed the next Pele.
For Freddy Adu it would really be last chance saloon.

28
Football / Re: Fire Stephen Hart Thread
« on: October 14, 2016, 02:11:27 PM »
Waste of time thread :banginghead:

29
Football / Re: A set of Fatima men on this Forum
« on: August 03, 2008, 08:44:22 AM »
Cipriani was a goalkeeper first for the Giants U14 team, then he convert to midfielder,I believe he played for 1st eleven at one time. He was good and always wanted the ball. A little bit of a ball hog that would get upset easy but overall a good player. I think he went to Trinity as with Sheppy and Larry Williams

Good to see him doing well. :D

30
Football / Re: After Bobby Sookram.
« on: July 22, 2008, 03:23:24 PM »
VB,

You bring back the old memories talking about Ramdoo and the good old days.

I remember seeing that Indian player with you on the bench for Trinidad against Italy. We thought it was a big deal unlike the others.

BTW, I went to Turkey in April 2008. Are you still in Istanbul?

Indian footballers that stand out during my time are Roach (CIC), Jaglal (CIC-captain), Christopher Sagar (Fatima Goalkeeper).

Presentation had a couple of players as well.

I noticed the best Indian player down south, especially Sando and Marabella. Texaco had a couple of players also.

Pages: [1] 2 3 ... 5
1]; } ?>