Should the Govt Be in Charge of all National Sports

[KND2]

Ultimately should they be in charge of all National teams.
With Football for example
The economic situation in Trinidad is such that Football cannot support itself financially. Even when we sell out the Stadium the game is a Loss finanacially.

The TTFF depends on Govt as well as Jack to put plenty money into football to keep it  afloat.
Yet still from what I can see I do not see any Govt accountability or responisibility in football making decisions administratively.
in the end I think the football suffers becuase the Govt is reluctant to give as no real account is given for the money.

I think in order for us to move forward in the TTFF there must be a Govt appointed repersentative in a decision making position within the TTFF to ensure tax payers money is being directed properly

FIFA is very anti government as far as football is concerned. but in small nations I think it is essential.

If you look at a big country like the USA
They govt may not be involved because the Federation has enough fundraising and support to fund the program.

In Trinidad there is virtually no money coming into the local game that is not Govt related.

Gate Receipts are small
Sponsorship is non existant
And we contantly have to be begging the Minister of Sports for money.

I think part of the Ministry of Sport reponsibility should be to ensure the National Teams represent the country properly and as a result they should have a say in the leadership and direction of the team.

[morvant]

i find yuh make plenty sense dan but that could be in the near future. right now de gov't have a few problems that they need to concentrate on(i wont mention here) and then we could consider this brilliant point that you brought up.

[kicker]

The Gov't needs to play a part, but it should be a joint effort......as I believe is the case in many countries.

The local footballing governing body- TTFF in our case has to rely on both corporate and federal assistance. Our corporate sector is definitely not willing to own football, so TTFF ulitmately relies heavily on the the federal authority as well, hence the reason we have a ministry of sport- so that the Gov't can allocate budgets that can be used to aid sporting federations such as the TTFF....

The issues that one runs into with Gov't have to do with Bureaucracy, lack of entrepreneural spirit, lack of vision and dedication to marketing efforts, limited and strict budgets....slowness in getting things done......and gov'ts sometimes wanting to have a huge say in the way things are run, if they are putting financial resources into it.

The issues that one runs into with the private sector, is that they are concerned with return on their investment...if they do not see how their involvement in football could/would help their bottom line, then they will be less willing to invest.....which I think leads to one of the biggest issues we have in Trinidad when it comes to getting support from the private sector- Apart from our private sector not being terribly strong, we don't have many sport oriented corporations- it's way easier for a company like NIKE or GATORADE to see how their involvement in football will help their bottom line, than it is for a company like RBTT or CL financial........

....I'm pretty ignorant to the intricate workings behind the scenes, but that is my big picture view....anyone disagreeing/willing to correct or add...please feel free

That being said I THINK the real questions to consider are :

What should the the balance between corporate and federal assistance to the TTFF be ?

Who is currently bearing more of the burden, and who should bear more of the burden of football in TT??

Is either sector holding its own ? or do we need more financial commitment from both ??

Does either our corporate sector or the gov't or a combo of both even possess the strength to carry the weight of football's financial demands in Trinidad ??

[slates]

When the private sector contributes/donates towards the sporting body (TTFF), are they allowed to take a tax write-off? Does anyone know? Because that would be incentive for them to contribute.

[KND2]

There are sporting Tax write offs in TnT.

[Coop's]

This my understanding of why Governments,Coorperations,Businesses etc don't want to get involved in Football.
  FIFA plain and simple is the cause ,no one will get involved if they can't have a say,no one is going to put out money if they are not going to benefit anything from it,the only ppl that benefit from Football is FIFA win,loose or draw,stadium full or half empty,friendly or serious game, they have have a guaranteed cut to get,they manipulate everything ,who getting involved in that,they are more powerfull than any Government,anything you make in Football is for FIFA,Governments and countries get Zero.
   I don't think Gov't should be in charge of sports,just an example, since we have a ministry of sports all sports in the country have died.    

[kicker]

This my understanding of why Governments,Coorperations,Businesses etc don't want to get involved in Football.
  FIFA plain and simple is the cause ,no one will get involved if they can't have a say,no one is going to put out money if they are not going to benefit anything from it,the only ppl that benefit from Football is FIFA win,loose or draw,stadium full or half empty,friendly or serious game, they have have a guaranteed cut to get,they manipulate everything ,who getting involved in that,they are more powerfull than any Government,anything you make in Football is for FIFA,Governments and countries get Zero.
   I don't think Gov't should be in charge of sports,just an example, since we have a ministry of sports all sports in the country have died.    

To say that no one else but FIFA benefits from investing in football is very wrong (at least I think so).....Why do you think companies like Nike sponsor world tours and endorse players etc......Corporations can and I believe do benefit from investing in football..........but only a few probably do because it probably has to be done on a scale that makes sense......and not all corporations have the financial strength to do so.

But you are correct, Gov'ts don't stand to benefit as much......if at all.....so their incentive is alot less than many corporations

[KND2]

Trinidad Govt stand to Benefit the Most.

Pubilcity for the country (Invaluable we could never afford world wide advertising)

Strong Sport industry leading to employment

Youth benefits of being involved in positive activities leading to less youth crime and issues, Invaluable.

Health benefits of sporting activities reduced health care cost for the nation.

The Govt stand to benefit the most for a Strong football program in TnT.

It is bigger than just 11 players making the world cup.

[royalian]

i believe the current tax writeoff for investment in culture and sports is 150%, and yet this does not seem to be enough with these stingy local companies. It's just a culture where there is no sense of reinvestment in community. A lack of social conscience.

[BigToe]

Under normal circumstances, yes. However, given the competency of our government, it would be a disaster.

[kicker]

i believe the current tax writeoff for investment in culture and sports is 150%, and yet this does not seem to be enough with these stingy local companies. It's just a culture where there is no sense of reinvestment in community. A lack of social conscience.

good point.........

"social conscience" is a very contentious debate..comes back to the age old question "is the role of the private sector to maximize shareholder value through profit, or to give back to the community"....some would argue that maximizing shareholder value through earnings is the best way for the private sector to give back to it community because it creates jobs, yadda yadd etc etc..............but that's too much to get into.....good point though

[kicker]

Trinidad Govt stand to Benefit the Most.

Pubilcity for the country (Invaluable we could never afford world wide advertising)

Strong Sport industry leading to employment

Youth benefits of being involved in positive activities leading to less youth crime and issues, Invaluable.

Health benefits of sporting activities reduced health care cost for the nation.

The Govt stand to benefit the most for a Strong football program in TnT.

It is bigger than just 11 players making the world cup.

Yes........but it comes down to the vision.......does the gov't have those intangibles and indirect benefits in its vision........and do they really believe that can they really attain such benefits through investing in sport

[Mose]

Trinidad Govt stand to Benefit the Most.

Pubilcity for the country (Invaluable we could never afford world wide advertising)

True but we have a track team that is already raising the country's profile.

Strong Sport industry leading to employment

Youth benefits of being involved in positive activities leading to less youth crime and issues, Invaluable.

Health benefits of sporting activities reduced health care cost for the nation.

That would be better achieved by investing in community activiites/programs than by investing in the national football side.

Not that I think the gov't shouldn't support the national side, I just don't agree with the reasons given. Also, after the financial scandal surrounding 1989, I can't really blame them for being a little reluctant to get into bed with JW.

With regards to corporate sector becoming involved, one has to wonder why, if companies are willing to sponsor local teams, they're not willing to put the money behind the national team. Someone else already asked what kind of financial plan is being presented by TTFF? This is relevant because as an investor/supporter you have a right to know how your money is being used. We keep talking about backward thinking but the fact of the matter is no responsible company CEO is going to just go throwing his money into something just because somebody jumps up and says "We need financial support". You have to have some kind of business plan. And frankly I'm getting the distinct impression that TTFFs fundraising efforts have simply consisted of JW getting in the papers and on TV and saying "We Want Money and Allyuh have to provide it!"

[Benjie]

Remember the Football company and why it failed because investments were made but at the end of the project it was found that the company was bankrupt.  They do little marketing and their development plans have little basis in fact. Profitability in sports is founded in investment not receipts so if investors have no faith then the ability to be profitable is much reduced.

[kicker]

Profitability in sports is founded in investment not receipts

Explain that last sentence and how sports differs to any other industry in that context.

[warmonga]

seriously de governmemnt aint in charge of de country dem go run sports..People madd innah yah ...Vote PNM everything go be good!!!!!!!!!
warmonga..

Bun policktrician lto de fullest !!!!!!!!!!!!!

[makaveli]

only on a minor level and even then an indepedendant board should be set up to manage proposals in order to be free from political interference.

[Savannah boy]

How is it dat ah oil and gas producing country like T&T have dey belt so tight when it come to fighting crime, promoting sport and finding jobs for de youth? Ah hear we does pay some of de highest income taxes for an oil endowed nation. Whey all dis money going? Why is it dat a prominent former world renowned National Sportsman did find heself sleeping in ah practice gym while representing we at the Olympics? Why it have to go dong so?  In a way yuh could see why some sportsmen leave we shores but de fella who sleep in de gym...he is real son of de soil. Ah does real feel fuh Jack and de footbal team. Imagine we have man who used to play for Man U now wearing Finta Kit. Lawd have mercy.

[pass(10trini)]

Dis is ah controversial topic and one dat I have ah place in meh heart set for war. Cause I did write to Peter Ray Blood about this some years aback.

Sport in tnt will always have ah hard time as long as these business people not seeing dey own kind running tings .  Alyuh know who we talking bout right .

As long as dey ain't seeing dem kind out dey in de tick ah tings dey not giving ah dam cent to nobody. When last alyuh see ah man from westmoorings or Federation park playing on ah football side for tnt ??

Is certain men running business and everything in tnt and dem not too forward with dey money.  Sponsorship for sport have ah full 100% money back guarantee in tax returns and still nobody helping with anything unless is dey friend, son , relative , or dey seeing advertising benefits too be had .

I don't belive government should be involved in sport as there are enough business in tnt to finance anything thats going on anywhere in our little island. Enough wealth running around tnt and it should never be a problem to give back to communities.

Problem is dat money only going around certain circles back home and crime will continue to benefit many poor brothers and sister because these stingy businesss owners only keeping de money in dey pockets . So dey will continue to place security guards and big fences to keep dem and dey family safe and everybody else will have to fend for deyself.

In de meantime we go have to turn to a godfadder to help we out.

Hold strong my people.

[Reggaefan]

The economic situation in Trinidad is such that Football cannot support itself financially. Even when we sell out the Stadium the game is a Loss finanacially.

I thought T&T's economy was doing well....Because the last time Jamaica were involved in World Cup Qualifiers, the JFF makes a profit in excess of US$100,000 for each home game from just gate reciepts. Is it that the poor man in Jamaica loves his football more than the poor man in Trinidad?

One world cup qualifier in Kingston can easily gross US$350,000 (35,000 fans at an average ticket price of US$10.00). In fact, thelastgame Isw in Kingston I paid US$25 for the ticket, so the average ticket price could easily be US$15. out of that US$350,000, you use $250,000 to pay player bonuses and other match expenses. the other $100,000 is money in teh JFF/TTFF pockets. I imagine its teh same in Central America too, although Idont know what ticket prices are like there.