You get what you deserve
By Fazeer Mohammed (T&T Express)
They may be poles apart socially, economically and possibly even geographically, but there's one common element between grassroots footballers and the big pappy investors of CLICO and CIB: they both want others to fight their battles.
If it is arrogance and selfishness in the extreme from those who want their millions back (plus interest, we are always reminded) yet refuse to testify at the ongoing Commission of Enquiry, the very same can be said of the members of the football fraternity who claim to want a fundamental restructuring of the game in this country yet are not prepared to do anything meaningful about it for fear of jeopardising their undeserved slice of largesse.
In essence, football in Trinidad and Tobago is precisely where it is, not because of Jack Warner or Ollie Camps, but because of these many spineless wonders who frequently proclaim their undying love for the sport but whose vision extends no further than the length of their arms as they stretch out to receive another favour that ensures they remain agents of stagnation and, inevitably, decline.
It is only in a jokey nation like this, with no recent memory of what a life-or-death struggle is all about, will you find news reporters shamelessly comparing the sacrificing of thousands of lives in pursuit of freedom from oppression in the Middle East with a few protestors blocking roads and burning debris in the southland. This idea of sacrifice for the common good and for generations to come is generally alien to these parts, so it is very much the norm to have people of supposed prominence proclaiming one thing in the public domain yet doing something entirely different when the cameras and microphones are switched off.
Football, our most popular sport, is replete with such cowards, persons who privately bemoan the state of the game, who lament the wilful surrender of all authority and influence into the hands of one man, yet refuse to stand up and be counted for fear of losing the little or big "wuk" that they have courtesy of Jack or the Trinidad and Tobago Football Federation (T&TFF), which is basically the same thing, or at least it used to be until just the other day.
It makes no sense in relation to the best interests of football, but it makes every bit of sense insofar as self-preservation is concerned. So to all of those diehard football people wailing about the decline of our game to the extent that last evening's fixture against 153rd-ranked India at the Hasely Crawford Stadium was the only senior men's national team outing this year, less than two weeks before the start of qualifying for Brazil 2014: you are getting exactly what you deserve.
Even on the very infrequent occasions when a semblance of an attempt is made to reform the game, the mindless recipients of a footballing bligh are, like the PNM fanatics who filled Woodford Square on September 12, 2008 in defence of their then great leader, mobilised in strident defence of the establishment, even if it means insulting, humiliating and threatening those offering an alternative.
Few may recall it, but that was the experience of a handful of private individuals who attempted to mobilise widespread support for a fundamental restructuring of the Trinidad and Tobago Football Association (as it was known then) just about 20 years ago. Meetings with clubs had to be aborted with agents of the entrenched hierarchy always on hand to disrupt proceedings and stir up resentment by claiming that this was really an attempt by the upper class to seize control of the game from the grassroots.
This effort came on the heels of a failed attempt by an organisation called the Association of Football Supporters of Trinidad and Tobago, headed by George Hislop (Shaka's father), which had sought to do essentially the same thing following the near-miss at qualification for Italia '90 and the scandal of the overselling of tickets for the decisive game against the United States on November 19, 1989.
At a time of very strong feelings against the TTFA and the way the game was administered, to the extent that there was a Commission of Enquiry into the fiasco, AFSOTT still struggled to gain momentum simply because almost all of the major stakeholders, not least the players, chose to stay well clear of the organisation, the notable exception being veteran defender Brian Williams.
This unwillingness of players to jeopardise their national careers for the sake of a greater good received little public criticism, hardly surprising in a society accustomed to expecting something for nothing. And just so we don't confuse things, the ongoing legal battle by 13 members of the 2006 World Cup squad has nothing to do with seeking the best interests of football in T&T. Like the CLICO and CIB sawatees, they just want the money that they claim was promised to them. Any reformation that comes out of the exercise is merely a side-effect.
Selflessness is not a quality that gains much traction here. The few without any personal agendas seeking a better, more equitable, more accountable society in Trinidad and Tobago are invariably left to fend for themselves when the going gets tough as the fair-weather attention-seekers crawl back into the holes from which they came.
It is only complete collapse that will force them out. Given the farcical build-up to World Cup qualifying and the challenges ahead of the new TT Pro League season, that may not be too far away.
