Shaka relishes FPATT role.
By: Lasana Liburd (Express).
Gloves off.
FIFA vice-president and Trinidad and Tobago Football Federation (T&TFF) special adviser Jack Warner must have needed a minute to gather himself after perusing his e-mail on Sunday afternoon.
One letter in particular, penned by former national goalkeeper and newly-installed interim president of the Football Players Association of Trinidad and Tobago (FPATT), Shaka Hislop, might have winded Warner.
Archie Moore, a former world light heavyweight boxing champion, once said a boxer is never floored by a punch that he sees hit him. He knows when he will be hurt and, in most cases, can absorb the pain. It is the pain that the boxer is unprepared to handle which humiliates him.
Hislop, whose 15-year professional goalkeeping career seemed built on placid rather than provocative statements, can clearly launch an attack as quickly as he quells another.
"Your latest slanderous attack, though, has prompted me to write in defence of the characters of the most successful team in our nation's history," stated Hislop, in response to Warner's assertion that the 2006 World Cup squad comprised a gang of greedy mercenaries.
"You have continually proven yourself heavily biased and opinionated in this matter when in truth, in your capacity as CONCACAF president, you should be the one to advise on the impasse."
Warner, who silences politicians and administrators by his mere presence, being lectured on his duties by a footballer? The Caribbean's foremost sporting administrator is yet to issue a response.
For Hislop, it was a moving start to his term as union head and he insisted he was ready for the challenge.
"I think it is something I always felt I would do," said the Dallas FC goalkeeper. "I only had to be careful about the timing of it because I always felt the roles of player and administrator should be kept separate.
"I think I bring to the table a reputation at international level that will stand us in good stead. People know what I stand for."
Hislop spent most of his adult life in the English leagues, where he campaigned for Reading, Newcastle United, West Ham and Portsmouth, and earned a sizeable fan base for his athleticism and composure between the uprights. But he is equally revered for his work off the pitch.
While at Newcastle, he co-founded an anti-racism movement called "Show Racism The Red Card" which now operates throughout Europe, while his professional counterparts granted him the English Professional Footballers Association (PFA) Special Merit Award in 2005. He is the first non-British player since Brazilian legend, Pele, to be so honoured.
Hislop has already forged relationships with England PFA boss, Gordon Taylor, and Major League Soccer (MLS) Players Union executive director, Bob Foose, which he feels should benefit Trinidad and Tobago during his tenure.
Hislop still lives in Dallas, where he is employed as player and goalkeeping coach by the MLS club. His contract expires in late 2007 although he does not feel that FPATT will suffer for his physical absence in the short term.
"Thanks to modern technology," he told the Express, "it is not as difficult (to stay on top of things from a distance) as it was with e-mail and Blackberry and cell phones.
"My phone bill is going to be high and I will have to spend a lot of time on the computer, which is difficult for me because I am married with four daughters and have a fifth child coming any day now.
"Family has always been a big part of my life but I have always been very passionate about giving something back to Trinidad and Tobago and am really enjoying this."
Perhaps unsurprisingly, Hislop anticipated conflict with the controversial Warner.
The player and administrator got off to a false start in 1994 when Warner asked FIFA to ban the goalkeeper when he declined the invitation for a friendly international because it interfered with his duties for Reading.
Hislop, who was born in London but grew up in Trinidad, was allowed to resume his club career by virtue of his British passport and even accepted an English B' team call-up before he softened his stance towards the T&TFF and joined the national team in 1999.
He went on to win 24 caps for Trinidad and Tobago, five as team captain, which culminated in his appearance at the 2006 World Cup tournament. Last July, Hislop was among Warner's guests at the World Cup final in Berlin as a tribute to the goalkeeper's heroics in the country's historic opening draw against Sweden.
Hislop recalled a funny, animated discussion with Warner in November 2005 on the chartered flight from Bahrain after the Soca Warriors had booked their maiden World Cup voyage.
"We (players, administrators and fans) were having a few celebratory drinks and stumbling around the plane," he said. "I remember telling Warner 'thank you for everything you have done for us in helping get Trinidad and Tobago to the World Cup final'.
"But I also told him that I am sure we will lock horns in the future and, when we do, it will be business and nothing personal."
Perhaps Warner might have remembered those words too last weekend.
At present, FPATT is on a recruiting drive through the local leagues and has begun approaching companies for sponsorship deals and for advice on matters ranging from pension schemes, mortgages and health care.
"I had advice on all of those things throughout my career," said Hislop. "But it is a luxury not afforded to players in Trinidad and Tobago. I want our players to be able to concentrate solely on football whenever they walk past that white line and not have to worry about things like that."
"I have been a professional player for the past 15 years and I feel I have a fair grip of the wants and needs of players. At FPATT, we have surrounded ourselves with people who know what it takes to be leaders and have a real passion for the local game."
FPATT has declared itself to be pre-occupied with the empowerment of local players. It is a vision that Hislop clearly believes is worth fighting for.
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