Sancho appointed new Minister of Sport.
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Harrison takes over as managing director at Central FC
Brent Sancho has been appointed the new Minister of Sport, replacing Rupert Griffith, who had been acting in that post following the resignation of Anil Roberts last July.
Sancho was a surprise announcement made by Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar in her address to the nation on Monday night.
Following his swearing-in on Tuesday (today), Sancho said, “For the next couple months, or however long my tenure would be, I want to make sure there is pride, it is athlete driven, and we get the right funding to our athletes to make sure they represent our country in the right way.
We have an abundance of talents in this country and although we have not given them the right support all the way through, they have still done well, and I am looking forward to raising the bar even more for them.”
The 37-year-old Sancho will now separate himself from duties as managing director of Central Football Club, the club he co-owns, meanwhile 52-year-old England born co-owner Kevin Harrison, formerly the operations director, will serve as managing director in the absence of the former Trinidad and Tobago footballer and member of the 2006 “Soca Warriors” squad.
Harrison assured that new changes wouldn’t negatively affect the Couva based club “because the philosophy we have built will still present.”
“He (Sancho) won’t be involved in the club,” said Harrison. “It is something that we discussed. It is a good move for him although, politically, its not the best time to take that position with all the controversy that’s going on.
“But he has steady hands to the ship. He is just a neutral person and he is doing it for Trinidad and Tobago. We don’t know how long it will be for because election is around the corner, but maybe he can steady things, being a sensible head.”
Harrison said he believes strongly that Sancho can have a positive impact as Sports Minister and with the position can get corporate Trinidad and Tobago involved in sport again.
“He (Sancho) had assisted the government recently and had been the voice of players in the past few years,” continued Harrison. “Maybe the government looked at him as someone well respected with a good head on his shoulders because that’s the type of people that they need right now.”
Sancho has been at the forefront of an ongoing legal battle for monies owed to the 2006 “Soca Warriors” by the Trinidad and Tobago Football Association (TTFA).
Last September, Sancho, along with twelve (12) others “Soca Warriors”, received cheques from the prime minister, which represented the balance of the money the court said was owed to them.
But despite the pay off, Sancho vowed the players would continue with their legal action.
Sancho said then, “While the procedure has gone before the court we have unearthed a lot of wrongdoing and we intend to find the person responsible for the missing funds. We will continue with our legal battle and bring those missing funds back to the TTFF.”
He also had given the assurance that once the missing funds were recovered, the players would reimburse the Government.
