Lessons for Minister of Sport
By Peter O'Connor (Trinidad Newsday)
WELL, FOR all the doubts off the field, our Soca Warriors went to Bermuda and quietly got their job done. TT is now on the road to South Africa.
Congratulations to coach Maturana, and to every member of the squad, for every member contributed.
So, now that this scare is behind us, what can we take out of the experience, how can we develop between now and September — (how are you coming along Kenwyne Jones?), and how can we prepare, and repair, the environment in which our World Cup campaign must be fought?
Let us consider the damage already done to the environment in which football needs to be promoted and played. The “damage” came in two forms — first the bonus dispute with the World Cup Squad from 2006, which is now behind us, and secondly, and suddenly, the interventions by the neophyte Minister of Sport which were highly disruptive and actually caused TT citizens to boo him in front of the visiting England team, their FA and their supporters — not to mention in front of our team!
As I write this, I am aware that a meeting has been scheduled for Saturday morning (yesterday) between the minister and the Football Federation to discuss the way forward.
Special Advisor Jack Warner has said he will not attend this meeting, removing the possibility of personal animosity intruding upon the agenda.
So as you read this, a better understanding may already have been reached. And if there is an agreement upon how the “environment” will better serve local football then reason will have triumphed, and we will see all of our home matches here. While the minister has been in every public place saying he wants to meet with the Federation to resolve the issues he has created, he has made no statement on what items he is prepare to yield, or to compromise upon.
Please remember that it was conditions unilaterally imposed by the minister which caused the TTFF to shift matches to the Marvin Lee Stadium, Macoya and to go to court to play the match against England at the Hasely Crawford Stadium at Mucurapo.
What kind of person, what kind of government, would seek to sabotage a Centennial Match by trying to impose new conditions for use of a venue for which the TTFF already had to organise the required upgrade?
TTFF negotiators must keep in mind the genesis of this dispute — and that is the minister’s attitude to how he deals with sports organisations.
This poor minister needs to listen and to learn how International Sports events — especially football events — are promoted and organised. And he must then understand his role in these events.
The minister needs to learn about who owns which “rights” that he so cavalierly claims brings millions into TTFF. Firstly, in order to get England here, TTFF had to agree that all the TV rights — except to the Americas — were for the England FA.
The England FA also had the rights to place all the field boards for the event, and TTFF had to get them to agree that local sponsors had contracts for field boards which needed to be honoured. TTFF sold local TV rights to Channel 4, with whom they have been working since 2005. Channel 4 then sold — or should have sold — ads locally to cover their expense and even earn a profit.
The TV and field-board rights for World Cup Qualifying in the CONCACAF region are sold — as a package —to a promotions company — in this case TRAFFIC Inc.
This is the same in UEFA, Africa, Asia and South America. The Confederation sells the rights, not the individual countries. A few field board spaces are retained by the country — for the country’s sponsors. The value of the boards are a right included in the sponsorship agreement. TT can sell the TV and field-board rights for friendlies, unless these are part of the agreement with the visiting team — as with England.
When the minister announces the “earnings” from TV and field boards, and demands money from these, who will pay this? TRAFFIC? TTFF? Without Jack’s threats — CONCACAF will not permit matches in a country where the government tries to extort money from CONCACAF sponsors and partners.
Anyway, while the TT Team had to fly, at their own cost, via Miami to Bermuda — the minister did send a flight with his supporters to Bermuda. Is there some irony here?
Next week we will continue this topic, and look at the relationships between sports and their use, or rights, of government-built facilities.
