March 28, 2024, 04:28:39 AM

Poll

Who will make a good TTFA president.

Kelvin Jack
5 (11.9%)
Nigel Myers
3 (7.1%)
Flex Mohammed
12 (28.6%)
Terry Fenwick
6 (14.3%)
Somebody Else
15 (35.7%)
Brent Sancho
0 (0%)
David-John Williams
0 (0%)
Foreign Investor
1 (2.4%)

Total Members Voted: 42

Author Topic: TTFA News Thread.  (Read 117105 times)

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Offline Flex

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Re: TTFA News Thread.
« Reply #360 on: June 04, 2019, 12:04:56 AM »
Cudjoe: Money is not the problem.
By Walter Alibey (Guardian).


Un­der-prepa­ra­tion and not the un­avail­abil­i­ty of funds for the coun­try's Olympic men's team pre­vent­ed it from con­test­ing the Qual­i­fiers, Sham­fa Cud­joe, Min­is­ter of Sports and Youth Af­fairs said at a press con­fer­ence at the Of­fice of the Prime Min­is­ter in St Clair on Mon­day.

On­ly last week Richard Quan Chan, a mem­ber of the Board of Di­rec­tors of the T&T Foot­ball As­so­ci­a­tion said it was un­like­ly that the team would go to the qual­i­fiers due to no fund­ing. How­ev­er, Cud­joe re­vealed that in a meet­ing with the em­bat­tled foot­ball as­so­ci­a­tion last Fri­day, she was told the teams could not go be­cause they were just not pre­pared.

"We would have met with the TTFA last week Fri­day, the Min­istry of Sports, along with SporTT and in our dis­cus­sions with the TTFA pres­i­dent David John-Williams we were told that even if we had the mon­ey to go, we would not have sent them be­cause they were not ready, so that re­quest was not made to us to pro­vide fund­ing be­cause TTFA would have tak­en that de­ci­sion that the team was not ready."

She added, "They would have ex­plained that in or­der for a team to be well pre­pared for that kind of un­der­tak­ing, that train­ing and in­vest­ment should have come at least four years ago, so even if we threw all the mon­ey at them now, they don't have suf­fi­cient time, suf­fi­cient re­sources and the ca­pa­bil­i­ty to be ready."

Her com­ments come on the heels of a re­lease by the TTFA, ex­plain­ing the Un­der-23 men's foot­ball team for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games had re­gret­tably been with­drawn from this year’s CON­CA­CAF Men’s Un­der-23 Olympic Qual­i­fiers, as a de­ci­sion was tak­en to fo­cus its re­sources on oth­er com­pe­ti­tions for the rest of 2019.

The T&T team was drawn in Pool B of the 16-team com­pe­ti­tion against min­nows Bar­ba­dos, and US Vir­gin Is­lands and Cu­ba with the ini­tial round of qual­i­fy­ing in the Caribbean phase tak­ing place from Ju­ly 17-21 across four dif­fer­ent venues.

The re­lease stat­ed the fi­nan­cial dif­fi­cul­ties of the lo­cal as­so­ci­a­tion have been no se­cret to the pub­lic with a debt of over US$ 5 mil­lion (TT$34M) and most re­cent­ly, the freez­ing of the bank ac­counts.

"De­spite these tur­bu­lent times, the TTFA with the sup­port of the Gov­ern­ment of T&To has man­aged to suc­cess­ful­ly field teams in all of the com­pe­ti­tions thus far for the 2019 com­pe­ti­tions cal­en­dar. With the lim­it­ed fund­ing avail­able, and 11 na­tion­al teams to ser­vice, the T&TFA has tak­en the de­ci­sion that in mov­ing for­ward we must not in­crease the debt of the as­so­ci­a­tion and thus we must pri­or­i­tize which tour­na­ments are a 'must' to par­tic­i­pate in."

With re­gards to putting the sta­tus of lo­cal foot­ball un­der the mi­cro­scope of a FI­FA ban, the T&TFA re­lease not­ed that ac­cord­ing to FI­FA Stat­ues, mem­ber as­so­ci­a­tions are man­dat­ed to par­tic­i­pate in a max­i­mum of two com­pe­ti­tions for a pe­ri­od of four con­sec­u­tive years to keep its FI­FA mem­ber­ship sta­tus.

But Cud­joe said they will be head­ing to France to­day and will at­tempt to sort out is­sues with the FI­FA, "We have to keep in mind that TTFA has 11 na­tion­al teams un­der its re­mit and it re­ceives the same kind of sub­ven­tions from the FI­FA, like any oth­er coun­try that has five na­tion­al teams, two na­tion­al teams or one na­tion­al team. So as we pro­ceed to France to­mor­row to have dis­cus­sions with FI­FA, we are go­ing to be speak­ing about eq­ui­ty rather than equal­i­ty, as it re­lates to fund­ing in foot­ball de­vel­op­ment in the Caribbean re­gion and the less­er de­vel­oped coun­tries."

The coun­try's women's team, how­ev­er, will par­tic­i­pate at the Olympic qual­i­fiers as the T&TFA said it re­mains com­mit­ted to the de­vel­op­ment of foot­ball and thus has pledged its funds to oth­er com­pe­ti­tions for the rest of the year, in­clu­sive of their qual­i­fiers as well as the men's CON­CA­CAF Gold Cup 2019; Con­ca­caf Boys Un­der-15 Cham­pi­onships; 2019 Caribbean Foot­ball Union Un­der-14 Girls Chal­lenge Se­ries; 2019 Caribbean Foot­ball Union Un­der-14 Boys Chal­lenge Se­ries; Con­ca­caf Un­der-17 Women’s Cham­pi­onships; Con­ca­caf Un­der-20 Women’s Cham­pi­onships, and Con­ca­caf Na­tions League.


The real measure of a man's character is what he would do if he knew he would never be found out.

Offline Deeks

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Re: TTFA News Thread.
« Reply #361 on: June 04, 2019, 05:10:22 AM »
Tell me this crap.  The women going but the men eh going.  DJW just full of ..it.

Offline asylumseeker

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Re: TTFA News Thread.
« Reply #362 on: June 04, 2019, 06:56:50 AM »
Tell me this crap.  The women going but the men eh going.  DJW just full of ..it.

Politically it wouldn't be a good idea to eff with de women twice in short order and especially in the actual year of the WWC and you going to France but the players, not.

It has been more than twice that the women have been treated shabbily.
« Last Edit: June 04, 2019, 12:01:39 PM by asylumseeker »

Offline asylumseeker

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Re: TTFA News Thread.
« Reply #363 on: June 04, 2019, 07:03:12 AM »
Having heard all the articulations and formulations from officialdom on the matter of the U23s, the conclusion is that the TTFA is on shit and their delivery should be treated with the disdain of an angered Richards or smiling Lara and smacked over the boundary with the force of a lost ball.

Offline Bourbon

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Re: TTFA News Thread.
« Reply #364 on: June 04, 2019, 10:00:17 AM »
When are elections again?

Will those who vote develop a conscience and shame by then?
The greatest single cause of atheism in the world today are Christians who acknowledge Jesus ;with their lips and walk out the door and deny Him by their lifestyle. That is what an unbelieving world simply finds unbelievable.

Offline Brownsugar

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Re: TTFA News Thread.
« Reply #365 on: June 04, 2019, 05:53:43 PM »
* sigh * 

Ah tired......
"...If yuh clothes tear up
Or yuh shoes burst off,
You could still jump up when music play.
Old lady, young baby, everybody could dingolay...
Dingolay, ay, ay, ay ay,
Dingolay ay, ay, ay..."

RIP Shadow....The legend will live on in music...

Offline FF

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Re: TTFA News Thread.
« Reply #366 on: June 04, 2019, 08:30:39 PM »
Selby Browne is the one I can't take. His conduct is absolutely offensive
THE BEATINGS WILL CONTINUE UNTIL MORALE IMPROVES

Offline Flex

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Re: TTFA News Thread.
« Reply #367 on: June 10, 2019, 05:06:04 PM »
Gillette touted as best man for TTFA president.
By Walter Alibey (Guardian).


Yes­ter­day, Brent San­cho, a mem­ber of the com­mis­sion who ad­mit­ted to Gillette's good work since he was ap­point­ed as an in­de­pen­dent mem­ber, said every­one was say­ing they were im­pressed by Gillette.

"How­ev­er, I can tell you that I do not know that there is a move­ment for Gillette to be put for­ward for the post of pres­i­dent. He has worked with my club - Cen­tral FC, as well as at the com­mis­sion and I am sat­is­fied with his work so far," San­cho said.

A TTFA ex­ec­u­tive mem­ber who wished to re­main anony­mous point­ed to ar­ti­cle 34 of the TTFA con­sti­tu­tion which refers to the elec­tion of mem­bers of the board of di­rec­tors. The ar­ti­cle states: "Can­di­dates shall have been ac­tive in foot­ball for at least three years dur­ing the five years pre­ced­ing the elec­tion. This ac­tiv­i­ty must have been per­formed in a man­age­r­i­al or a sim­i­lar po­si­tion in the ter­ri­to­ry of the Re­pub­lic of T&T.

Can­di­dates may not have pre­vi­ous­ly been found guilty of an in­dictable of­fence: Can­di­dates shall be na­tion­als of and shall have per­ma­nent res­i­dence in the Re­pub­lic of T&T: Can­di­da­tures for the of­fice of Pres­i­dent and Vice-Pres­i­dent of the Board of Di­rec­tors shall be sup­port­ed by at least one Mem­ber."

Con­tact­ed for clar­i­fi­ca­tion on the is­sue yes­ter­day, TTFA con­sti­tu­tion­al ex­pert Os­mond Down­er said the ar­ti­cle will rule out some names be­ing bandied about for the com­ing elec­tion but he didn't want to name those in­di­vid­u­als. He said un­like the pres­i­dent and vice pres­i­dent, who are cho­sen by vote dur­ing the elec­tion, all oth­er board mem­bers are elect­ed by their mem­ber as­so­ci­a­tions be­fore they are sent to be in­duct­ed in­to the new ex­ec­u­tive.

To date, for­mer TTFA pres­i­dent Ray­mond Tim Kee and Cen­tral Foot­ball As­so­ci­a­tion (CFA) sec­re­tary Clynt Tay­lor have de­clared their in­ten­tion to con­test the elec­tion. Guardian Me­dia Sports un­der­stands North­ern Foot­ball As­so­ci­a­tion (NFA) pres­i­dent An­tho­ny Har­ford is al­so ex­pect­ed to throw his hat in­to the elec­tion ring. They will all at­tempt to de­feat in­cum­bent David John-Williams.

Yes­ter­day, San­cho said his con­cern was more about the traits the next pres­i­dent has more than whom he is, not­ing that the per­son must be ca­pa­ble of gen­er­at­ing rev­enue, at­tract­ing cor­po­rate T&T, un­der­stand­ing that the TTFA debt will be in­her­it­ed and hav­ing the in­ter­est of the sport at heart.

The real measure of a man's character is what he would do if he knew he would never be found out.

Offline asylumseeker

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Re: TTFA News Thread.
« Reply #368 on: June 10, 2019, 05:43:53 PM »
He disqualified himself through his conduct of the first press conference. Lehwe be serious.

(And Alibey' s article is a poor man's substitute for opinion polling.)

Offline Storeboy

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Re: TTFA News Thread.
« Reply #369 on: June 11, 2019, 11:56:26 AM »
He disqualified himself through his conduct of the first press conference. Lehwe be serious.

(And Alibey' s article is a poor man's substitute for opinion polling.)
Who is "He"?
Never, never, ever give up! Go T&T Warriors!

Offline asylumseeker

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Re: TTFA News Thread.
« Reply #370 on: June 11, 2019, 12:57:13 PM »
He disqualified himself through his conduct of the first press conference. Lehwe be serious.

(And Alibey' s article is a poor man's substitute for opinion polling.)
Who is "He"?

The article immediately above my post moots a possible Lindsay Gillette candidacy for TTFA president. The "he" is Gillette.

Regardless of other procedural amd substantive obstacles that could block and render a Gillette candidacy not viable, his conduct at the media conference did nothing to recommend him to the weight of that office.

He could be quite accurately everything that Sancho describes, without the need for elevation to the presidency of the TTFA.
« Last Edit: June 11, 2019, 01:03:23 PM by asylumseeker »

Offline soccerman

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Re: TTFA News Thread.
« Reply #371 on: June 11, 2019, 01:13:24 PM »
He disqualified himself through his conduct of the first press conference. Lehwe be serious.

(And Alibey' s article is a poor man's substitute for opinion polling.)
For real. Sounded like his tactics didn't work in the press conference as he tried to dodge and beat around the bush with questions he couldn't answer. True politician!

Offline Flex

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Re: TTFA News Thread.
« Reply #372 on: June 13, 2019, 01:43:21 AM »
Look Loy: T&T football ‘brain dead’.
By Narissa Fraser (Newsday).


"T&T football is flat lining, we are brain dead."

THIS was the statement made at a press conference yesterday morning by TT Football Association (TTFA) board member Keith Look Loy, at The Hotel Normandie in Port of Spain. He says it is because of a lack of transparency and accountability in the TTFA, which he attributes to its president David John-Williams who was elected in 2015.

According to Look Loy, decisions are being made without consulting all of the association's board members. The board meets once per month and the last meeting was held on May 6.

"Since May, the board of the TTFA has been constructively dismissed in favour of the so-called 'emergency committee' that has been appointed by the board itself. The only real emergency in the TTFA is the emergency that is being created by the mishandling of the association by the president and his cohorts," he said.

He said board members have never seen a contract for the matches played by the T&T senior en's team over the past year, and questioned how money is being distributed.

"No contract for any international friendly has ever come before the board of the TTFA for agreement. We don't know how much the agent is being paid, and we surely don't know how much money the TTFA is receiving," he said. "Show me the bank records, this is not the private business of the president. TTFA always in court. People always have to be taking them to court because they owed money."

He says despite the disorder and recent calls for his removal, he will not resign as he has a responsibility to the people of T&T. In March, the TTFA attempted to legally challenge the legitimacy of his 2017 appointment to the board of directors but was unsuccessful. Look Loy says he has no plans to run for any executive positions in the TTFA's elections in November.

"I am interested in football, not in football posts or positions," he said.

He described the situation as 'abuse' and 'serious injustice' for young footballers, and says that there is not enough football being played in T&T.

Look Loy said, "The only country that not playing football right now that going to the Gold Cup is Trinidad and Tobago. Everybody else is playing football, why are we not playing?" T&T will compete in the Concacaf Gold Cup which runs from June 15 to July 7. Their first match is on June 18 against Panama.

"We sitting down and we don't know when football will start, but we talking about picking national teams. Where these players coming from?" he said.

Also present were Northern Football Association (NFA) general secretary Rayshawn Mars, and T&T Women's Football League (WoLF) president Susan Joseph-Warrick.

They agreed with Look Loy and said they want good governance in T&T football.

Joseph-Warrick said, "We've seen it numerously in the press and the media that apparently it's only Mr Look Loy that is fighting the case but we are there. We just want the public to know that we are here to ensure that good things happen in football."

RELATED NEWS

Look Loy unhappy with T&TFA mismanagement.
By Nigel Simon (Guardian).


Out­spo­ken T&T Su­per League (TTSL) pres­i­dent Kei­th Look Loy says he is un­hap­py with the mal­ad­min­is­tra­tion of the T&T Foot­ball As­so­ci­a­tion.

Look Loy was speak­ing at a me­dia con­fer­ence at the Nor­mandie ho­tel in St Ann’s yes­ter­day, which he called to high­light three ma­jor is­sues fac­ing lo­cal foot­ball un­der the lead­er­ship of TTFA pres­i­dent David John-Williams.

In his ad­dress, Look Loy, who was ac­com­pa­nied by North­ern Foot­ball As­so­ci­a­tion gen­er­al sec­re­tary and for­mer na­tion­al youth goal­keep­er Rayshawn Mars and Women’s League of Foot­ball (WoLF) pres­i­dent Su­san Joseph-War­rick, said he was speak­ing on be­half of five cur­rent mem­bers of the board who were un­hap­py with the T&TFA's op­er­a­tions as it per­tains to foot­ball in the coun­try.

In ad­di­tion to him­self, Mars and Joseph-War­rick, Look Loy said the two oth­er dis­sat­is­fied boards mem­bers were Cen­tral Foot­ball As­so­ci­a­tion’s Col­in Par­tap, a lawyer and Joseph Tay­lor, pres­i­dent of the T&T Ref­er­ees As­so­ci­a­tion.

The oth­er per­sons com­pris­ing the 13-mem­ber T&TFA board are John-Williams, Sel­by Browne (Vet­er­an Foot­ballers' Foun­da­tion of T&T), South­ern Foot­ball As­so­ci­a­tion pres­i­dent Richard Quan Chan, To­ba­go Foot­ball As­so­ci­a­tion (TFA) pres­i­dent An­tho­ny Moore; in­ter­im East­ern Foot­ball As­so­ci­a­tion pres­i­dent (EFA) Ban­dele Ka­mau; T&TFA vice-pres­i­dent Ew­ing Davis; Sherqyn Dy­er (East­ern Coun­ties Foot­ball Union) and Ju­lia Bap­tiste (T&T Pro League).

Look Loy said on be­half of the five mem­bers he was reach­ing out to the gen­er­al pub­lic to con­vey their dis­sat­is­fac­tion about some im­me­di­ate mat­ters in the T&TFA and the gen­er­al mal-ad­min­is­tra­tion of the lo­cal board.

He said their ma­jor con­cerns sur­round­ed the en­tire mis­han­dling of the Un­der-23 Olympic team's with­draw­al from their qual­i­fy­ing cam­paign, change of spon­sor­ship for the na­tion­al team from Ju­ma to Capel­li Sport and the lack of vi­sion for the women’s foot­ball pro­gramme.

Joseph-War­rick al­so is­sued a press re­lease in which she ex­pressed dis­ap­point­ment at be­ing con­stant­ly dis­re­gard­ed by the T&FA in mat­ters re­lat­ed to the women’s na­tion­al pro­gramme, main­ly the se­lec­tion of a women’s team coach.

Reached for com­ment by Guardian Me­dia Sports, John-Williams once again re­it­er­at­ed his stance re­gard­ing the ru­mours be­ing cir­cu­lat­ed over the al­leged nam­ing of North Amer­i­can-based Stephan De Four as na­tion­al Un­der-17, Un­der-20 and se­nior women’s coach.

He said: "Please be ad­vised that the TTFA has not em­ployed any­one ei­ther con­trac­tu­al­ly or oth­er­wise in the role of na­tion­al head coach for our Girls Un­der-17 and Un­der-20 teams. The ac­tiv­i­ties of any­one per­pet­u­at­ing oth­er­wise are there­fore not con­duct­ed un­der the aus­pices nor in­struc­tion of the TTFA."

Asked whether the with­draw­al of the Olympic men’s team was ever dis­cussed at board lev­el, the T&TFA boss replied: "Please note that the board of di­rec­tors dis­cussed the Un­der-23 and it de­cid­ed that the board will hold its po­si­tion of hir­ing a coach be­cause fund­ing was not avail­able."

Last month, Richard Quan Chan said dur­ing a press con­fer­ence that the TTFA had no funds and no spon­sor had stepped for­ward, so the tech­ni­cal de­part­ment of the T&TFA had de­cid­ed the team would be pulled. The TTFA said the board doesn’t de­cide which com­pe­ti­tions T&T plays in or not, but rather the fi­nances of the T&TFA gov­erns that.

Guardian Me­dia Sports was in­formed that both Look Loy and Joseph-War­rick formed the quo­rum at the May 6 board meet­ing and were in­volved in the dis­cus­sions on the is­sues raised. In ad­di­tion, John-Williams ex­plained: “The meet­ing dis­cussed that we would en­gage Mr De Four via dis­cus­sions with re­gards to per­son­al terms be­fore we can hire him and the mat­ter must be tabled at the next board meet­ing which is yet to take place. The per­son­al terms were dis­cussed and were en­su­ing, how­ev­er, the meet­ing agreed that no con­tract was to be signed or agreed up­on be­fore it comes be­fore the board.”

« Last Edit: June 13, 2019, 01:46:14 AM by Flex »
The real measure of a man's character is what he would do if he knew he would never be found out.

Offline maxg

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Re: TTFA News Thread.
« Reply #373 on: June 24, 2019, 06:31:42 PM »
TTFA must be held accountable
Look Loy, Fenwick peeved after US annihilation…

by Joel Bailey
Trinidad Newsday


US forward Gyasi Zardes celebrates after scoring a goal against TT during the second half of
a CONCACAF Gold Cup match on Saturday, in Cleveland. (AP PHOTO)
US forward Gyasi Zardes celebrates after scoring a goal against TT during the second half of a CONCACAF Gold Cup match on Saturday, in Cleveland. (AP PHOTO)
KEITH LOOK Loy and Terry Fenwick are calling for the TT Football Association (TTFA) to be called to account for the dismal state of the game locally.

The outspoken duo made their calls during separate telephone interviews yesterday, after TT were embarrassed 6-0 by hosts United States in their Concacaf Gold Cup Group D match in Cleveland, Ohio.

Look Loy, who is a board member of the TTFA and owner/president of FC Santa Rosa, and Fenwick, former England defender and ex-San Juan Jabloteh and Central FC coach, have also pointed fingers at TT men’s team coach Dennis Lawrence for his tactics and team selection.

In fact, Look Loy have called on the TTFA hierarchy, as well as Lawrence, to step aside in order to avoid further misery on the image of TT football.

Look Loy commented, “This is a national and international disgrace (but) this comes as no surprise. This debacle was prepared over the last two years because we re-appointed a coach who does not have the capacity. I was the only board member to oppose his re-appointment.

“When I proposed that we should appoint him till the end of the Gold Cup, that was swatted aside and the board went for a re-appointment for two years,” continued Look Loy. “So now we’re stuck with him. Given the financial situation of the TTFA, if we remove him, we’ll have to pay him off and the TTFA is in no position to do that.”

Fenwick noted, “The whole administration, particularly on the technical side, have been struggling because of the poor preparation for tournaments and games. We looked disorganised, we didn’t look structured, we didn’t look like there was a game plan. The team is playing a style of football that does not suit them. They are not comfortable with it. And the results tell that story.”

Stephen Hart was fired by TTFA president David John-Williams in December 2016 and replaced by Belgian Tom Saintfiet who, in turn, stepped down a month later, claiming a lack of support from the local governing body.

Lawrence, who was serving as a scout with the Belgium men’s team (under the guidance of Roberto Martinez), was given the mantle as TT coach in January 2017, even though he never held any role as head coach, either at the club or national level.

Look Loy said, “If (Lawrence) was a foreign coach, he would have been gone a long time ago, people would have been howling for his head. We fired a coach who took us to two quarter-finals of the Gold Cup, 2013 and 2015, to replace him with a coach who can’t win a match.

“The Guyanese (who TT will play on Wednesday) right now are feeling they can take our scalp,” he continued. “It is the loss of future opportunities because foreign coaches now are not going to be taking TTFA and our national team seriously. We are no longer held in respect and our players are no longer taken seriously.”

About Lawrence’s current position, Fenwick said, “I think he’s had a very difficult time. The team looks like they’re under pressure all of the time. (Regarding) team selection, we brought our best player (Kevin Molino) off the bench (on Saturday).

Lawrence, the former TT central defender, has a record of five victories, five drawn results and 15 losses during his time at the helm.

“In terms of the immediate situation, I cannot understand how Lawrence could pick a 23-man squad, included one forward (Shahdon Winchester) who hasn’t seen the field yet, rely on midfielders to score and your two leading goalscoring midfielders (Molino and Joevin Jones) are on the bench. We are the only team in the tournament not to have scored a goal at this point. We concede goals exactly the same way. Our biggest weakness is marking in the (penalty) box.

“We have become accustomed to hear him talk about how it’s a work-in-progress. He took no responsibility for that loss and simply put it down to the players losing concentration. This is a team that he has had for two years. If in

two years, you cannot get players accustomed to your tactics, then you don’t deserve to be in the job. I put all of this clearly at the feet of John-Williams and his cohorts.”

According to Fenwick, “I think John-Williams and his board should all be held to account. If you looked at his manifesto, everything was going to be transparent. Nothing has been transparent. He’s tried to micro-manage everything himself. National teams at every age group are either not in training or not competing. (They) have lost eight court cases against former employees. The whole administration has been shocking.”

Where do we go from here, as far as TT’s football is concerned?

Look Loy responded, “In a world populated with people of honour, Dennis Lawrence would resign (but) I don’t expect him to resign. The political leadership of the TTFA should resign (but) I don’t expect them to resign. I have called for an emergency board meeting to discuss this situation. If there is an emergency in the TTFA today, this is it.”

Fenwick replied, “We’ve got no development programme. NLCB committed (millions) for youth development and grassroots football through the TTFA. Where is the development? Coaches that are not good enough, and it doesn’t take a genius to recognise that they all operated in the past with the president.”

Offline Flex

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Re: TTFA News Thread.
« Reply #374 on: June 25, 2019, 12:47:42 AM »
TTFA must be held accountable.
By Joel Bailey (Newsday).


Look Loy, Fenwick peeved after US annihilation…

KEITH LOOK Loy and Terry Fenwick are calling for the TT Football Association (TTFA) to be called to account for the dismal state of the game locally.

The outspoken duo made their calls during separate telephone interviews yesterday, after T&T were embarrassed 6-0 by hosts United States in their Concacaf Gold Cup Group D match in Cleveland, Ohio.

Look Loy, who is a board member of the TTFA and owner/president of FC Santa Rosa, and Fenwick, former England defender and ex-San Juan Jabloteh and Central FC coach, have also pointed fingers at TT men’s team coach Dennis Lawrence for his tactics and team selection.

In fact, Look Loy have called on the TTFA hierarchy, as well as Lawrence, to step aside in order to avoid further misery on the image of T&T football.

Look Loy commented, “This is a national and international disgrace (but) this comes as no surprise. This debacle was prepared over the last two years because we re-appointed a coach who does not have the capacity. I was the only board member to oppose his re-appointment.

“When I proposed that we should appoint him till the end of the Gold Cup, that was swatted aside and the board went for a re-appointment for two years,” continued Look Loy. “So now we’re stuck with him. Given the financial situation of the TTFA, if we remove him, we’ll have to pay him off and the TTFA is in no position to do that.”

Fenwick noted, “The whole administration, particularly on the technical side, have been struggling because of the poor preparation for tournaments and games. We looked disorganised, we didn’t look structured, we didn’t look like there was a game plan. The team is playing a style of football that does not suit them. They are not comfortable with it. And the results tell that story.”

Stephen Hart was fired by TTFA president David John-Williams in December 2016 and replaced by Belgian Tom Saintfiet who, in turn, stepped down a month later, claiming a lack of support from the local governing body.

Lawrence, who was serving as a scout with the Belgium men’s team (under the guidance of Roberto Martinez), was given the mantle as T&T coach in January 2017, even though he never held any role as head coach, either at the club or national level.

Look Loy said, “If (Lawrence) was a foreign coach, he would have been gone a long time ago, people would have been howling for his head. We fired a coach who took us to two quarter-finals of the Gold Cup, 2013 and 2015, to replace him with a coach who can’t win a match.

“The Guyanese (who T&T will play on Wednesday) right now are feeling they can take our scalp,” he continued. “It is the loss of future opportunities because foreign coaches now are not going to be taking TTFA and our national team seriously. We are no longer held in respect and our players are no longer taken seriously.”

About Lawrence’s current position, Fenwick said, “I think he’s had a very difficult time. The team looks like they’re under pressure all of the time. (Regarding) team selection, we brought our best player (Kevin Molino) off the bench (on Saturday).

Lawrence, the former T&T central defender, has a record of five victories, five drawn results and 15 losses during his time at the helm.

“In terms of the immediate situation, I cannot understand how Lawrence could pick a 23-man squad, included one forward (Shahdon Winchester) who hasn’t seen the field yet, rely on midfielders to score and your two leading goalscoring midfielders (Molino and Joevin Jones) are on the bench. We are the only team in the tournament not to have scored a goal at this point. We concede goals exactly the same way. Our biggest weakness is marking in the (penalty) box.

“We have become accustomed to hear him talk about how it’s a work-in-progress. He took no responsibility for that loss and simply put it down to the players losing concentration. This is a team that he has had for two years. If in

two years, you cannot get players accustomed to your tactics, then you don’t deserve to be in the job. I put all of this clearly at the feet of John-Williams and his cohorts.”

According to Fenwick, “I think John-Williams and his board should all be held to account. If you looked at his manifesto, everything was going to be transparent. Nothing has been transparent. He’s tried to micro-manage everything himself. National teams at every age group are either not in training or not competing. (They) have lost eight court cases against former employees. The whole administration has been shocking.”

Where do we go from here, as far as T&T’s football is concerned?

Look Loy responded, “In a world populated with people of honour, Dennis Lawrence would resign (but) I don’t expect him to resign. The political leadership of the TTFA should resign (but) I don’t expect them to resign. I have called for an emergency board meeting to discuss this situation. If there is an emergency in the TTFA today, this is it.”

Fenwick replied, “We’ve got no development programme. NLCB committed (millions) for youth development and grassroots football through the TTFA. Where is the development? Coaches that are not good enough, and it doesn’t take a genius to recognise that they all operated in the past with the president.”

RELATED NEWS

T&T goalie, coach disappointed by humiliating loss.
By Joel Bailey (Newsday).


T&T GOALKEEPER Marvin Phillip and coach Dennis Lawrence both expressed disappointment after the team’s 6-0 humiliation by the United States in their Concacaf Gold Cup Group D fixture on Saturday evening.

According to Phillip, “It’s absolutely embarrassing for us. We knew what was at stake, but we just didn’t show up.”

T&T were beaten by Panama 2-0 in their opening game last Tuesday, and needed to avoid defeat against the reigning champs US to stay alive in the competition.

The 34-year-old goalie noted, “We had a reasonable first half but there was a period in the second half, about 25 minutes, when we just lost structure (and) shape. When you meet teams like the US, they would take advantage of those situations.”

T&T will end their Gold Cup campaign on Wednesday against Guyana and Phillip said, “We need to do a rain-check on ourselves and try to play for some pride.”

Lawrence suffered his 15th defeat as T&T coach since taking over from Belgian Tom Saintfiet in January 2017.

During the post-match media conference, he said, “We have to change (our) mentality. We have to learn to stand up and fight.”

He added, “We lost concentration, we started to go gung-ho to see if we can get back in the game. That’s not the way we do things. You have to stay organised.”

Experienced midfielder Kevin Molino and Joevin Jones started the game on the bench, and Lawrence explained, “Molino just came off a (knee) injury. I have to protect the players and ensure that I don’t push them at the wrong time.”

Referring to the forthcoming Guyana match, Lawrence pointed out, “There will definitely be changes. We need to put this behind our backs as quickly as possible.”

A pair of ex-national players were both scathing in their views, on Facebook, of Saturday’s result.

Former T&T women team’s skipper Maylee Attin-Johnson wrote, “They love to say ‘I want to give back to my country’. Their supporters love to say ‘he/she patriotic’. I would say, these people love to use patriotism conveniently. Let’s see how patriotic the coach is. I hope he does the honourable thing and resign.”

Attin-Johnson added, “To the players, you must take blame as well. There is so much a coach can do. Fitness is something that you as a player can control and as a professional coming to a national team a coach shouldn’t have to focus on getting you fit. Effort is something a coach cannot teach you, that’s a personal choice.

“I do not care if you have beef with a coach, a player or a federation. Once you decide to don the red, black and white, and walk out on that field, nothing else should matter but playing with maximum effort and pride.”

Lawrence’s former T&T teammate, goalkeeper Kelvin Jack wrote, “I can talk about the schoolboy errors made by the players and their shocking naivety. I can talk about tactics or lack of tactical awareness. I can talk about our lack of technical ability. I do have a slight bit of sympathy for Lawrence but ultimately he must shoulder responsibility for on-field matters; only to a point though.. his record is abysmal however he lacks many tools.

“David John-Williams is the president of the TTFA (TT Football Association) and it is truly astonishing how his ineptitude and depressing lack of vision has not caused TT football fans to launch a mass protest demanding his resignation.”

Lawrence, the former T&T central defender, has a record of five victories, five drawn results and 15 losses during his time at the helm.

Look Loy said, “In terms of the immediate situation, I cannot understand how Lawrence could pick a 23-man squad, included one forward (Shahdon Winchester) who hasn’t seen the field yet, rely on midfielders to score and your two leading goalscoring midfielders (Molino and Joevin Jones) are on the bench. We are the only team in the tournament not to have scored a goal at this point.

We concede goals exactly the same way. Our biggest weakness is marking in the (penalty) box.

« Last Edit: June 25, 2019, 12:49:26 AM by Flex »
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Offline Flex

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Re: TTFA News Thread.
« Reply #375 on: June 27, 2019, 11:49:02 PM »
Look Loy goes back to court.
By Derek Achong (Guardian).


T&T Foot­ball As­so­ci­a­tion (TTFA) Di­rec­tor Kei­th Look Loy has filed yet an­oth­er law­suit seek­ing dis­clo­sure of in­for­ma­tion re­lat­ed to the con­struc­tion of its US$2.5 mil­lion "Home for Foot­ball".

In the ju­di­cial re­view claim filed in April, Look Loy is claim­ing that the doc­u­ments dis­closed by the TTFA pur­suant to the court or­der from March 20, raised more ques­tions over sus­pect­ed fi­nan­cial im­pro­pri­ety in the project.

"From the doc­u­ments I did re­ceive, I no­ticed a num­ber of dis­crep­an­cies in Gen­er­al Ledger. This in­cludes pay­ments which I know ought to have been made from, my per­son­al knowl­edge of the run­ning of the or­gan­i­sa­tion, not ap­pear­ing in Gen­er­al Ledger," Look Loy said in his af­fi­davit filed in the case.

Look Loy al­so al­leged that the foren­sic ac­coun­tants whom he re­tained to analyse the as­so­ci­a­tion's records al­so point­ed out is­sues.

"I al­so note from the doc­u­ments I have re­ceived that the cu­mu­la­tive val­ue of the con­tracts which have been dis­closed to me ap­pears to be ap­prox­i­mate­ly $3 mil­lion. The val­ue of the stat­ed FI­FA in­vest­ment is ap­prox­i­mate­ly $19.25 mil­lion; mean­ing that there is an ap­par­ent un­ex­plained dis­crep­an­cy of ap­prox­i­mate­ly $16 mil­lion," Look Loy added, in his re­quest for the as­so­ci­a­tion's bank state­ments.

When Look Loy's case came up for hear­ing be­fore Jus­tice Devin­dra Ram­per­sad at the Hall of Jus­tice in Port-of-Spain, on Wednes­day morn­ing, the TTFA was giv­en di­rec­tions on the fil­ing of its ev­i­dence in the case. The case was then trans­ferred to Jus­tice Ron­nie Boodoos­ingh, who presided over the first case.

As a sec­ondary is­sue in the case, Look Loy is de­fend­ing his ap­point­ment to the TTFA in De­cem­ber 2017.

Ac­cord­ing to Look Loy the is­sue of whether there was a quo­rum of the TTFA ex­ec­u­tive mem­bers present when he was ap­point­ed a di­rec­tor, based on his po­si­tion as pres­i­dent of the T&T Su­per League, was on­ly raised af­ter by TTFA gen­er­al sec­re­tary Ca­ma­ra David af­ter he scored the le­gal vic­to­ry over the dis­clo­sure of the doc­u­ments.

"Clear­ly this is with a view to frus­trat­ing and/or pre­vent­ing my as­sess­ment of the bank state­ments and oth­er doc­u­ments of the TTFA with a view to in­creas­ing trans­paren­cy and ac­count­abil­i­ty with­in the sport," Look Loy claimed as he point­ed to doc­u­ments, in which em­bat­tled TTFA Pres­i­dent David John-Williams and oth­er col­leagues had pre­vi­ous­ly ac­knowl­edged his po­si­tion.

Look Loy sought and re­ceived an in­junc­tion block­ing the as­so­ci­a­tion from chal­leng­ing his ap­point­ment pend­ing the de­ter­mi­na­tion of his law­suit.

Look Loy is be­ing rep­re­sent­ed Dr Emir Crowne, Matthew Gayle and Crys­tal Paul, while Anand Mis­sir is rep­re­sent­ing the TTFA.

About the Case

Look Loy's le­gal chal­lenges are re­lat­ed to the "Home for Foot­ball" project in Cou­va which is ex­pect­ed to in­clude a 72-room ho­tel, train­ing pitch­es, an en­ter­tain­ment cen­tre and ad­min­is­tra­tive of­fices for the as­so­ci­a­tion.

The sod was turned in Sep­tem­ber 2017, with con­struc­tion start­ing in Feb­ru­ary, last year. The project was spon­sored by Fi­fa and is be­ing con­struct­ed on a lit­tle over sev­en hectares of land do­nat­ed by the Gov­ern­ment.

The project was al­ready at an ad­vanced stage when Fi­fa rep­re­sen­ta­tive Veron Mosen­go-Om­ba and Sports Min­is­ter Sham­fa Cud­joe con­duct­ed a tour in Au­gust, last year.

The project is still in­com­plete but the fa­cil­i­ty is sched­uled to be opened, lat­er this year.

De­liv­er­ing judge­ment in Look Loy's first case, on March 20, Jus­tice Ron­nie Boodoos­ingh ruled that TFA pres­i­dent David John-Williams and for­mer gen­er­al sec­re­tary Justin Lat­apy-George act­ed ir­ra­tional­ly and un­rea­son­ably when they re­peat­ed­ly de­clined to Look Loy's re­quests.

RELATED NEWS

Look Loy’s legal battle against TTFA intensifies.
By Jada Loutoo (Newsday).


SUPER League president Keith Look Loy's legal battle against the TT Football Association (TTFA), aimed at getting banking information from the local governing body and stopping it from impugning his status as a director, has intensified.

His latest claim came up for hearing at the Hall of Justice in Port of Spain on Wednesday before Justice Devindra Rampersad, who directed the TTFA to file its response by July 17, and transferred the matter to Justice Ronnie Boodoosingh, who in March ordered the association to hand over documents on the construction of its US$2.5 million Home for Football.

In his latest claim, Look Loy wants declarations that he and all directors of the TTFA are entitled to view, on demand, all and any documents in control or possession of the association, including bank records, investments and loans and other financials and that the refusal by the president and general secretary to allow them access was a breach of their duties.

Included in his claim, which is being argued by Dr Emir Crowne, Matthew Gayle and Crystal Paul, is an order to compel the TTFA to allow him to inspect and take copies of the financial information for November 2015 to present; returned paid cheque stubs for the same period; and all or any documents which are in the control of the association which are necessary for the discharge of his duties as a director.

In his affidavit in support of his claim, Look Loy said after Boodoosingh ordered the TTFA to hand over the documents relating to the Home of Football, he got some, while others were “still missing.” He said he reserved his right to file contempt and enforcement proceedings against the TTFA for failing to provide him with all the information the court ordered.

He said from the information he did receive, he noticed a number of discrepancies in the general ledger, including payments he knew ought to have been made not being included.

Look Loy said in order to verify the authenticity of the general ledger, he was advised by forensic accountants, he must get copies of all bank statements and paid cheque stubs.

“I also note from the documents I have received that the cumulative value of the contracts which have been disclosed to me appears to be approximately $3 million. The value of the stated FIFA investment is approximately $19.25 million; meaning there is an apparent unexplained discrepancy of approximately $16 million,” he said.

On April 3, he asked for bank statements but received no response from the TTFA, its president David-John Williams, its general secretary Camara David or its attorneys.

E-mails were sent and Look Loy said he even visited the TTFA’s office to get the information. On April 16, he was told he was not permitted access to the bank records because he was not a named signatory to the accounts.

Instead of giving him access to the banking information, Look Loy said David challenged his appointment as a director. He said he received a letter, on April 20 from David, telling him his appointment was “invalid and not consistent to the Constitution of the TTFA.”

Look Loy believes it was his insistence to get the information on the TTFA’s finances that led to the motion being tabled.

He immediately sought an emergency interim injunction and was successful in stopping the TTFA from challenging the legitimacy of his 2017 appointment to the board and ousting him from the football body. A meeting which was to be held on April 24 was cancelled after Justice Robin Mohammed granted the injunction.

The judge’s order also contained a penal notice warning the TTFA if it failed to comply with the terms of the order it would be in contempt and might be liable to jail time and its assets confiscated. The notice also warned any other person who knows of the order and does anything to help or permit the TTFA from breaching the terms of the order will also be held in contempt and may face jail time or have their assets seized

After Mohammed granted the injunction, Look Loy’s challenge was docketed to Rampersad, who transferred the case back to Boodoosingh.

“Clearly this is with a view to frustrating and/or preventing my accessing the bank statements and other documents with a view to increasing transparency and accountability within the sport,” he said in his affidavit in support of his judicial review claim.

Look Loy said David’s letter was ironic since in August 2017, David, as former league secretary to the Super League, wrote to the TTFA’s former general secretary telling him Look Loy had been duly elected to represent the league on the TTFA board.

Look Loy said he has taken part in board meetings and fulfilled his role as a director since March 2018.

He was elected by the Super League board to be its representative on the TTFA’s board on February 23, 2018. He was confirmed as a director of the TTFA on December 23, 2017, for four years.

« Last Edit: June 27, 2019, 11:51:17 PM by Flex »
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Offline Mad Scorpion a/k/a Big Bo$$

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Re: TTFA News Thread.
« Reply #376 on: June 28, 2019, 09:41:37 AM »
Go fuh dem coach!!!

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Re: TTFA News Thread.
« Reply #377 on: June 29, 2019, 10:48:38 AM »
Decisions are being made under the disguise of the "emergency committee", look how they abusing this loophole smh
https://wired868.com/2019/06/29/downer-john-williams-is-unconstitutionally-subverting-the-ttfas-board-of-directors/

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Look Loy calls for new T&T coach, players
« Reply #378 on: June 30, 2019, 10:37:32 AM »
Look Loy calls for new T&T coach, players
By Joel Bailey (T&T Newsday)


FORMER MALICK Secondary team coach and FIFA Development Officer Keith Look Loy is calling for changes within the T&T men’s football team, on and off the field.

Look Loy made this plea during an interview on Thursday, following T&T’s disappointing showing at the Concacaf Gold Cup in the United States.

In Group D, T&T finished with one point, after a 1-1 draw with Guyana on Wednesday. They were beaten 2-0 by Panama on June 18 and 6-0 by hosts US four days later.

“I think the squad was poorly selected, the starting teams were poorly selected and (T&T coach Dennis) Lawrence is contradicting himself,” said Look Loy, who is the owner/president of FC Santa Rosa. “It’s evident that he’s guessing as he goes along.

“It’s clear that we not only need a new coach but some new players,” Look Loy added. “We need some younger players who are ambitious to try and achieve something, to make a name for themselves. Some of them are in the squad already.

“This is what the Olympic qualifying tournament (this month) would have done. It would have given those younger boys a chance to show why they could have been included in the Nations League in September. That chance is gone. But we need a new coach and we need some new players.”

Commenting on the Guyana encounter, Look Loy said, “The result saved us the total embarrassment of not getting a point (but) it didn’t save us the embarrassment of finishing last in the group.”

Look Loy, an outspoken critic of the TTFA top brass, led by David John-Williams, noted, “The Gold Cup experience under the (David) John-Williams administration was poor. The last time around in 2017, we didn’t qualify and, this time around in 2019, we had this disaster, finishing last in a group behind a country ranked 177th in the world. That’s a national disgrace.”

The TTFA board member continued, “The bigger issue of the suitability of Lawrence. We have now played 23 matches under his hands and we’ve won four. I see the president of the TTFA talking about how he’s satisfied. I find this contemptuous of public opinion. You’re reading the social media. The public is in revolt against this. The public is demanding that both he and Lawrence should leave.

“People are saying that (John-Williams) wasn’t satisfied when (former coach Stephen) Hart lost two games but now you’re satisfied. It is so ludicrous.

“The TTFA would be hard-pressed to dismiss (Lawrence) because they cannot pay him off. I want to call on Lawrence to do the honourable thing to admit that the task is bigger than his abilities and to make way for somebody else to be appointed. If (he) was in a club, in any part of the world, he would have been long gone.”

Before the Gold Cup began, the TTFA announced a deal with kit sponsor Capelli.

According to Look Loy, “(On Wednesday), during the broadcast, the (Fox Sports) commentators are talking about the introduction of Capelli as the new kit sponsor of the TTFA and calling it ‘shirt gate’. The name of TT football and the TTFA is being dragged through the mud by this administration. We’re being disgraced all around.”
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Re: TTFA News Thread.
« Reply #379 on: July 02, 2019, 01:45:29 AM »
Eve: T&T football is going backwards and DJW should resign; national youth players now working in construction!
By Lasana Liburd (Wired868).


Men’s National Under-23 Team head coach-in-waiting, Angus Eve, is urging Trinidad and Tobago Football Association (TTFA) president David John-Williams and his Board to accept that they are not up to the job of running local football and resign with immediate effect.

Eve’s plea came within 24 hours of a press conference, chaired by TTFA Board member and supposed technical committee chairman Richard Quan Chan, which revealed that the body is set to scrap its Men’s and Women’s Olympic Teams due to financial issues.

Quan Chan is also part of John-Williams’ Emergency Committee which has become the de facto driver of the local game outside of the Board. The full committee includes: John-Williams, Ewing Davis (vice-president), Selby Browne (VFFOTT), Quan Chan (Southern FA), Anthony Moore (Tobago FA) and Bandele Kamau (Eastern FA).

Eve is Trinidad and Tobago’s all-time most capped senior team player and wore red, black and white at the Portugal 1991 World Youth Cup, which was the first time that the twin island republic qualified for a FIFA tournament.

A serial winner at Secondary Schools Football League (SSFL) level as Naparima College head coach, he lamented that the country’s talented young players no longer have the opportunities of their predecessors.

“People are saying our football is going backward and they are 100 percent correct,” said Eve. “In our days, you went from Under-14 to Under-16 to Under-17 to Under-20 to Under-23 to Senior level. At the end of that process, what you have is a well-rounded player with the requisite experience to play at senior international level or professionally abroad. But now our teams don’t go out and are not prepared for football and the young men don’t stand a chance.

“Look at the gap that exists between the National Under-15 Team and the Senior Team, which are the only teams that are in training. A gap like that is unheard of. I believe if the current TTFA board and president cannot run football, they should put their hands up and resign and give someone else a chance to come in and fix the ills that are going on.”

Eve, who also coaches Club Sando in the Pro League and is a former National Under-23 coach, revealed that he was asked by ‘several members of the TTFA’ to give his coaching services pro bono to the national youth team.

Did the construction workers at the TTFA’s Home of Football building work for free? He turned down the request outright and said he would do so again if asked.

“I have worked very hard to build my reputation as a coach and I believe the TTFA is a multi-million dollar organisation that gets funding every year from FIFA,” Eve told Wired868. “If you are building a hotel that means you have money. Not so? Our coaches are getting jobs outside of Trinidad, which means there are people who value [us].

“I believe no local coach should work for free because they worked very hard to get to this point—and I am very adamant about that. Because if the TTFA got a windfall of money right now, they would go and hire Pep Guardiola or one of those big-name foreign guys; they wouldn’t hire us.”

Yesterday, Quan Chan blamed Concacaf for the possible dismantling of the two national teams for supposedly sending late fixtures to the TTFA. In fact, the Olympic Games has been held at four year intervals without fail since 1948—71 years ago—with the qualifiers occurring in the year before the tournament.

Eve said he was interviewed for the position in 2018 and then asked to resubmit his CV earlier this year. And, despite the TTFA’s unexplained delays, he began to put things in place as soon as he was unofficially declared a frontrunner for the post.

“When they called me two months ago and it was purported in the press that I was the frontrunner,” said Eve, “I immediately contacted players like [Justin] Sadoo and [Jarred] Dass along with coaches like Reynold Carrington, Anthony Streete, etc, who have players we may want to include or can add to the programme. I didn’t want to start behind the eight-ball.

“I even talked to coach Dennis [Lawrence] about players abroad who made themselves available to represent Trinidad and Tobago and could have played for the Under-23s. I had already started due diligence and the boys are very interested.”

Eve said the reality for local footballers at present is bleak at domestic and international level. It is more than six months since there has been any competitive senior club football in the country and he is worried at the prospect of the Pro League and Super League organisations being absorbed into the TTFA.

“Most of the boys [who can play for the National Under-23 Team] are now working in construction or at a Mitsubishi plant in south and so on, because there is no football in the country,” he said. “We have not even had a [TTFA] FA Cup competition in years, so I can’t see how the TTFA can run any league. They called a meeting [for the new local football competition] but can’t even say when the league is starting or what it is called. It is embarrassing.”

Eve dismissed John-Williams’ repeat cries of poverty and pointed out that countries with less were doing more than the TTFA. He suggested it was a matter of priority and again returned to the president’s controversial Home of Football project, which is now a High Court matter due to a galling lack of financial transparency.

At present, FIFA gives over TT$10 million annually to the TTFA. Eve suggested the John-Williams-led body was not making best use of its financial resources.

“FIFA gives money every year for the development of football, not the development of a hotel,” said Eve. “Other nations like Haiti use their money to invest in players and coaches. You cannot tell me we have no money and at the same time build a hotel. Who is going to stay in the hotel if there is no football going on? Cyclists? Swimmers?

“[…] This is not me knocking the idea of the Home of Football. I’m talking about the wisdom of doing it now when there is no money to spend on developing football. Players like [Kevin] Molino, [Sheldon] Bateau, Mekeil Williams, Daneil Cyrus, Shahdon Winchester, Jomal Williams, Adrian Foncette; all of them were our Under-23 players [who I coached] and graduated to the Senior Team.

“Now all we have is teams like the Under-17 Team that are hastily organised and have coaches who are putting themselves up to be ridiculed by working for free. The TTFA president and his board should resign with immediate effect and give someone else the chance to do the job.”

John-Williams and TTFA general secretary Camara David refused to comment on the management of the football body’s finances and the long-term impact of the dismantling of national youth teams.

The real measure of a man's character is what he would do if he knew he would never be found out.

Offline Tallman

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For love of the beautiful game
« Reply #380 on: August 08, 2019, 08:31:56 PM »
For love of the beautiful game
By Gerard Home (T&T Newsday)


I HAVE watched, listened and read with disgust the attack on the president of the TTFA, David John-Williams.

To the United TTFA [coalition], I write these few words in order that all and sundry will have an insight into what is now taking place in the association.

All of you are well aware that for many years [post premier league] the foundation and state of local football have deteriorated.

I can remember that to be called up to the senior national team one had to prove himself in all the leagues, ie, primary, secondary schools, community club, associations (SFL, SFA, POSFL, NAFL and the like), then the zones (South, North, East, Central, etc).

I am not sure why and who was responsible for the change in the footballing structure. All I know is it started around the days of the premier league. I stand to be corrected here.

After that time our national team may have been performing intermittently credibly, something you/we have accepted and seemed not to care for excellence over the years.

Participating in competitions was just for appearances. However, the two prior-mentioned aspects remained. These were quite noticeable in all departments of the association, eg pro, super, college, zonal leagues and refereeing.

I believe this may have started when the association was run mainly by one individual, who answered to no-one and no-one dared challenge and/or question, especially about the association’s finances.

This governance was not a problem for any of you then since you benefitted one way or the other under that leadership. It appeared to me the development of football was not the priority of the association at that time, but one’s personal achievement and financial accomplishment.

You all were there and did nothing to stop the haemorrhaging of football in the land. Why? Simply because of the clout of the person in charge.

I strongly believe for the game to be properly developed here we need to advance, we have to start over, demolish the old house, construct new foundation and rebuild (no patch work).

I must also say that since I played football in the 70s, the TTFA was always in the red financially and no one was capable of finding a solution to this financial burden of the administration.

I sincerely believe DJW’s approach of focusing on the youths (foundation) while simultaneously addressing the financial dilemma of the TTFA is a step in the right direction.

The introduction of the Home of Football is pivotal in this initiative, since our national players can have a proper training facility while utilising a well managed hotel for teams – local and foreign – and other sporting bodies that use the neighbouring facilities (cycling velodrome, aquatic centre) for income generation. A novel idea and foresight which all of you lacked.

I also note that at no time have I heard that DJW is using the association’s finances to enrich himself or colleagues, unlike what has been alleged by personnel from past football administrations.

While I may not approve the alleged dictatorial approach at present, I could see that at times the democratic process hinders the speedy delivery of goods and services that will benefit the majority. This is what I believe is happening.

It seems that the only achievement the last administration made was to incur more debt for the present one.

DJW’s methods of operation and personality might not be welcoming to some. However, it seems to me it is about the love for the game which will benefit us all in the future. So to the main detractor (you know who you are) and others, please stop criticising, complaining and impeding the train that is going somewhere.

As was mentioned in the beginning, it has been about 40 odd years we have been falling. Let us give peace a chance, see what a few years in this new dawning will bring us. I know it is hard to accept change. We cannot keep doing things the same way – as we have done for years – and expect a different result.

To the football coaches and gurus of the day concerning the under-15 invitational tournament last month, don’t blame the coach and administration for the boys’ mediocre performance, for if you were given the opportunity to coach the team the result may not be much different.

I have seen teams that many of you coached and the standard of play was very similar. Stuart Charles-Fevrier has been coaching W Connection for many a years and it was always a highly ranked team. You would not have done much better. We all have failed and it is time for change.

In closing, I am hoping and praying that the detractors – personnel at the United TTFA press conference – who cannot embrace change and progress do not avail themselves for any position should elections be called since it is strongly felt that you all lack innovative ideas, foresight and have failed the football fraternity.

Like the politics of the day, the association needs young, innovative, positive and future-thinking personnel (like DJW) to continue the football odyssey in TT.
The Conquering Lion of Judah shall break every chain.

Offline asylumseeker

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Re: TTFA News Thread.
« Reply #381 on: August 08, 2019, 09:33:54 PM »
Quote
... the democratic process hinders the speedy delivery of goods and services that will benefit the majority. This is what I believe is happening.

LOL. SMH at this messianic bullshit.

« Last Edit: August 08, 2019, 09:37:24 PM by asylumseeker »

Offline lefty

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Re: TTFA News Thread.
« Reply #382 on: August 09, 2019, 04:08:09 AM »
Quote
... the democratic process hinders the speedy delivery of goods and services that will benefit the majority. This is what I believe is happening.

LOL. SMH at this messianic bullshit.


ent!!! My first reaction was "who is this asshole spewing this assholery
I pity the fool....

Offline FF

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Re: TTFA News Thread.
« Reply #383 on: August 09, 2019, 06:31:55 AM »
Who is this guy???

The propoganda campaign in full effect.
THE BEATINGS WILL CONTINUE UNTIL MORALE IMPROVES

Offline FF

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Re: TTFA News Thread.
« Reply #384 on: August 09, 2019, 06:33:38 AM »
I thought I read plenty garbage in my life

It have people who will go for this shit??
THE BEATINGS WILL CONTINUE UNTIL MORALE IMPROVES

Offline asylumseeker

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Re: TTFA News Thread.
« Reply #385 on: August 09, 2019, 07:09:21 AM »
I thought I read plenty garbage in my life

It have people who will go for this shit??

There are people who think Donald Trump is an enlightened reformist and they submit Letters to the Editor that are not unlike the one above ... except, of course, those letters are not written by Trump.

There are also other Letters to the Editor that are submitted to visit mischief and muddy the waters - much like the one above (hence you get otherwise sensible people investing time to debate whether Trump is actually a racist or whether DJW is malevolent or a well-intended dictator).

These self-serving entries into the  public record are not submitted to fly the flag of truth but to appeal to 'beliefs' and in this case, it suggests that the DIC (dictator-in-chief) is concerned about how challengers to the TTFA presidency may impact his future. There's really no other reason to be interested in sensitizing public opinion. There are always people who doh vote PNM or UNC reflexively.
« Last Edit: August 09, 2019, 07:26:43 AM by asylumseeker »

Offline Deeks

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Re: TTFA News Thread.
« Reply #386 on: August 09, 2019, 07:34:26 AM »
Is this Gerard Homer? He played for the national 75-76. Maybe that is a misprint.

Offline asylumseeker

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Re: TTFA News Thread.
« Reply #387 on: August 09, 2019, 08:03:52 AM »
Is this Gerard Homer? He played for the national 75-76. Maybe that is a misprint.

Likely a misprint. Ent he from South?

Offline Deeks

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Re: TTFA News Thread.
« Reply #388 on: August 09, 2019, 10:11:08 AM »
Is this Gerard Homer? He played for the national 75-76. Maybe that is a misprint.

Likely a misprint. Ent he from South?

If this is Homer, yes, he is from San Fernando. He played for Naps with the late Robbie Francis.  He was on the 74 youth team with me and I think was the vice captain. He was a skillful and stylish mid fielder. Played against him in college league and old NSL division 2. He played for Telco south team. He got a scholarship to Indiana U, Evansville. I have not talked to him in years. Think he worked for TSTT.  Not sure if he is retired. Very nice guy.  I don’t know how to assess his take on the TTFA. He is home, I am not.

Offline Tallman

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Re: TTFA News Thread.
« Reply #389 on: August 09, 2019, 12:09:14 PM »
Is this Gerard Homer? He played for the national 75-76. Maybe that is a misprint.

Likely a misprint. Ent he from South?

Yes it is a misprint. It is supposed to be Gerard Homer.
The Conquering Lion of Judah shall break every chain.

 

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