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Author Topic: FIFA appoints normalisation committee for Trinidad and Tobago football  (Read 102796 times)

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Offline socalion

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Re: FIFA appoints normalisation committee for Trinidad and Tobago football
« Reply #240 on: April 06, 2020, 02:15:49 PM »
I have a question to all football loving fans of TnT football fans ! What must the ttfa do in this instance as it relates to Fifa's stance by removing a democratically elected  team of officials of the current ttfa body ? An election they ( Fifa ) themselves oversaw ! In all seriousness it is inconceivable that Fifa now  to choose invalidate the William Wallace elected body to replace it by one of their Fifa choosing ! Yet many  are now coming out of the woodwork siding with Fifa's unjust albeit nonsensical explaination for the position they have taken . It is an outrage and should be called exactly that . It is unjust and should be called that . What must the ttfa do ? Should the ttfa In all fairness Go on blended knees  begging please? What example are we setting to the younger ones by allowing such ugliness on the part of Fifa , to continue . This is not about ego on the part of the current ttfa to take a firm stance against what Fifa has done or is attempting to do as claim by Fifa , it is simply addressing an act of injustice that's my view . Stand up against injustice  falling to do so is allowing abuses to continue

Offline asylumseeker

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Re: FIFA appoints normalisation committee for Trinidad and Tobago football
« Reply #241 on: April 06, 2020, 02:43:58 PM »
I have a question to all football loving fans of TnT football fans ! What must the ttfa do in this instance as it relates to Fifa's stance by removing a democratically elected  team of officials of the current ttfa body ? An election they ( Fifa ) themselves oversaw ! In all seriousness it is inconceivable that Fifa now  to choose invalidate the William Wallace elected body to replace it by one of their Fifa choosing ! Yet many  are now coming out of the woodwork siding with Fifa's unjust albeit nonsensical explaination for the position they have taken . It is an outrage and should be called exactly that . It is unjust and should be called that . What must the ttfa do ? Should the ttfa In all fairness Go on blended knees  begging please? What example are we setting to the younger ones by allowing such ugliness on the part of Fifa , to continue . This is not about ego on the part of the current ttfa to take a firm stance against what Fifa has done or is attempting to do as claim by Fifa , it is simply addressing an act of injustice that's my view . Stand up against injustice  falling to do so is allowing abuses to continue

Ent.

There was injustice in 1974; we ate that. There have been subsequent injustices that were eaten. But for some iz just to bounce from one "eat a food" session to the next. Nonsense.

Offline maxg

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Re: FIFA appoints normalisation committee for Trinidad and Tobago football
« Reply #242 on: April 06, 2020, 03:02:52 PM »
I have a question to all football loving fans of TnT football fans ! What must the ttfa do in this instance as it relates to Fifa's stance by removing a democratically elected  team of officials of the current ttfa body ? An election they ( Fifa ) themselves oversaw ! In all seriousness it is inconceivable that Fifa now  to choose invalidate the William Wallace elected body to replace it by one of their Fifa choosing ! Yet many  are now coming out of the woodwork siding with Fifa's unjust albeit nonsensical explaination for the position they have taken . It is an outrage and should be called exactly that . It is unjust and should be called that . What must the ttfa do ? Should the ttfa In all fairness Go on blended knees  begging please? What example are we setting to the younger ones by allowing such ugliness on the part of Fifa , to continue . This is not about ego on the part of the current ttfa to take a firm stance against what Fifa has done or is attempting to do as claim by Fifa , it is simply addressing an act of injustice that's my view . Stand up against injustice  falling to do so is allowing abuses to continue
Totally agree, but Stand up and do the necessary in such a way that it does not lead to additional injustice. It's most discouraging and disappointing when one buys a victim's fight against a bully and the victim help the bully buss yuh ass. And the ppl who witness and standby just observing buffing yuh for getting involved in the first place. As I tell my kids, living in any society-sometimes class filled and racial- especially an unequal one,  choose yuh battles and expect no help.  At the end of the day, if you win, many will say how correct and commendable it was for you to stand up, when you win. And those same ppl will chastise you for not being smart and practical when you lose. Pick yuh battles and plan for the future, but by all means battle.             

Offline Controversial

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There should be / need to be further investigation into Djw and Fifa officials as it relates to the home football project !

Absolutely. And,  the Government  of Trinidad & Tobago should be at the forefront of pursuing its own inquiry.
Especially considering their (tax-payers) contributions.

Precisely. And, the Prime Minister's comments made subsequent to my posts in July and November bolster that view.

Additionally, the government's interest in the HoF is more than esoteric. Although the PM portrayed it as the GoTT having washed its hands of the project after providing the land to the TTFA, that is not a sustainable position because the government holds an expectational interest in the outcome that did not cease with conveying the land to the TTFA. And, there has-been a failure of regulatory oversight by government entities regarding the fulfilment of that expectational interest because the HoF has deficiencies that block it from serving the purpose for which it was represented as being constructed.

Hope, assumption and opinion my friend... that doesn’t correlate to actual reality and govt action, or inaction in this case

Why would it be more than esoteric to them if they were complicit? Hypothetically speaking

And if there wasn’t some collusion, the govt of TT washing their hands of the situation wouldn’t have even been mentioned tbh

Offline Controversial

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There should be / need to be further investigation into Djw and Fifa officials as it relates to the home football project !

Absolutely. And,  the Government  of Trinidad & Tobago should be at the forefront of pursuing its own inquiry.
Especially considering their (tax-payers) contributions.

Ideally yes, but the govt has never had the ideal approach tbh

Offline Controversial

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When I reference investigation I do not mean the normalization committee. I mean the investigation that Wallace and them initiated into the home of football and the financial malpractice of the previous administration. We need to follow that to the end to unravel all this FIFA corruption
We on the same page

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Offline Controversial

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There should be / need to be further investigation into Djw and Fifa officials as it relates to the home football project !

Won’t happen by the govt, bc they are equally corrupt..

Wallace initiated and they cut the chord and called for the NC... it’s a Lone Ranger type of scenario where the govt will stay quiet unless their names are dragged into it with evidence
« Last Edit: April 06, 2020, 04:50:59 PM by Controversial »

Offline Controversial

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Re: FIFA appoints normalisation committee for Trinidad and Tobago football
« Reply #247 on: April 06, 2020, 04:54:13 PM »
When is the next FIFA elections, and who are the candidates?

You feel this thing is joke? Infantino ran unopposed last June.
He in office until 2023.... or more like whenever he get pried out like his successors.

Because head of CAF is his riding partner and Cfu is dismantled ...

With a united front for Cfu that opposes neo colonialism they are in trouble, even worse with CAF... Africa needs to get its act together

African football has not progressed and they hold the most power in the world of football

Offline Controversial

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Re: FIFA appoints normalisation committee for Trinidad and Tobago football
« Reply #248 on: April 06, 2020, 04:56:54 PM »
Dahis food for thought.

If only we could change to an economy that exports traitors, spies, turncoats and backstabbers. We might have a trailor load plus.

A quarter of the nation fits into that category nicely.. eat ah food mentality above the people as a whole

TT has effectively killed its chances of being a progressive stable democracy with a strong sports, health, any sector ... only carnival functions well but the music has gone to the dogs

Offline socalion

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Re: FIFA appoints normalisation committee for Trinidad and Tobago football
« Reply #249 on: April 06, 2020, 05:06:08 PM »
I have a question to all football loving fans of TnT football fans ! What must the ttfa do in this instance as it relates to Fifa's stance by removing a democratically elected  team of officials of the current ttfa body ? An election they ( Fifa ) themselves oversaw ! In all seriousness it is inconceivable that Fifa now  to choose invalidate the William Wallace elected body to replace it by one of their Fifa choosing ! Yet many  are now coming out of the woodwork siding with Fifa's unjust albeit nonsensical explaination for the position they have taken . It is an outrage and should be called exactly that . It is unjust and should be called that . What must the ttfa do ? Should the ttfa In all fairness Go on blended knees  begging please? What example are we setting to the younger ones by allowing such ugliness on the part of Fifa , to continue . This is not about ego on the part of the current ttfa to take a firm stance against what Fifa has done or is attempting to do as claim by Fifa , it is simply addressing an act of injustice that's my view . Stand up against injustice  falling to do so is allowing abuses to continue

Ent.

There was injustice in 1974; we ate that. There have been subsequent injustices that were eaten. But for some iz just to bounce from one "eat a food" session to the next. Nonsense.

Seeker I could not agree wid yuh more ! And  I clearly recall that 1974 robbery of our national team in Haiti  ! As yuh say too many bounce from one ( eat ah food ) to de next,  what ah shame doh !
« Last Edit: April 06, 2020, 06:33:34 PM by FF »

Offline Flex

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Re: FIFA appoints normalisation committee for Trinidad and Tobago football
« Reply #250 on: April 07, 2020, 08:40:23 AM »
Wallace, sacked TTFA executive to file CAS appeal.
By Joel Bailey (Newsday).


MEMBERS OF the sacked executive of the TTFA (TT Football Association) – president William Wallace and his deputies Clynt Taylor, Susan Joseph-Warrick and Joseph Sam Phillip – will be filing their appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), as they try to thwart FIFA’s running of the local governing body.

FIFA implemented a normalisation committee, headed by local businessman Robert Hadad, on March 17 and replaced the TTFA’s board, on the basis of mounting debts and financial mismanagement.

Wallace, who took over from David John-Williams as TTFA president on November 24, 2019, is using the legal team of Dr Emir Crowne and Matthew Gayle to fight his group’s battle against the global governing body.

On Monday, Gayle said, “The necessary fee to CAS has been paid and the statement of appeal will be filed (by Tuesday).”

The fee, which is required to lodge the complaint to CAS, is 1,000 Swiss francs (TT $7,000).

There has been public debate over whether or not Wallace and his team will be successful in their legal venture, but Gayle said, “Our view is that the normalisation committee has no legitimacy. There is no basis in law for FIFA or any other external body to interfere with the day-to-day running of the TTFA. That’s really where we’re at.

“Nothing has changed in that regard, notwithstanding the fact that FIFA purports to have appointed some of the members of the normalisation committee. Even the appointment of the normalisation committee has not been in keeping with FIFA’s own statutes.” Gayle mentioned, “Statute 8.2 of the FIFA’s statutes sets out when you can appoint a normalisation committee and how a normalisation committee can be appointed. It hasn’t complied with what 8.2 says.”

According to article 8.2 of FIFA’s constitution, “Executive bodies of member associations may, under exceptional circumstances, be removed from office by the Council in consultation with the relevant confederation and replaced by a normalisation committee for a specific period of time.”

Gayle said, “More fundamentally than that, is the normalisation committee is purported to be the base in the running of a sovereign body which, quite frankly, it can’t do without the acquiesce of a sovereign body.”

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

Offline socalion

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Re: FIFA appoints normalisation committee for Trinidad and Tobago football
« Reply #251 on: April 07, 2020, 02:02:48 PM »
 To the President of ttfa Mr. William Wallace and your legitimately elected team , it is with pride as a Trinbagonian i salute you  for the principled and firm stance taken to proceed with your case to (Cas ) , inspite  of all the naysayers as well as the doubters / defectors . It is the right thing to do, the pursuit of justice .

Offline Cocorite

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Re: FIFA appoints normalisation committee for Trinidad and Tobago football
« Reply #252 on: April 07, 2020, 05:54:25 PM »
Socalion,

I add my endorsement to this gesture. Proud to stand with people of integrity and backbone. True leadership.
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Offline Deeks

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Re: FIFA appoints normalisation committee for Trinidad and Tobago football
« Reply #253 on: April 07, 2020, 06:11:32 PM »
I support them all the way. Let Fifa know that they may be a big tree, we are a small axe, but we will ........

Offline asylumseeker

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He might not want to end up as pub trivia: Name a NT coach who never actually coached a single match during his tenure.

While this matter is one on which the advisable path is for the NT coach not to make a pronouncement, it's just the sort of circumstance that Terry Fenwick is likely to have a more than mild opinion on. The thing is,  whichever way yuh map it,  he's in the crosshairs. The heavy lifting is not mandatory for everyone. 

Water carriers have a role and silence is also a temporary weapon.

 :applause: :applause: :applause:

The honor has now gone to Ivan Jovanovic who, after being hired by the UAE in December, has been released from his contract without having had his team take the field. Jovanovic was on a contract of six months duration.

Word is that the same fate was heading Jordi Cruyff's way with Ecuador - before he decided to take a pay cut.

Of course,  both of these situations are novel coronavirus-related.
« Last Edit: April 07, 2020, 08:15:39 PM by asylumseeker »

Offline soccerman

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Re: FIFA appoints normalisation committee for Trinidad and Tobago football
« Reply #255 on: April 07, 2020, 10:49:48 PM »
To the President of ttfa Mr. William Wallace and your legitimately elected team , it is with pride as a Trinbagonian i salute you  for the principled and firm stance taken to proceed with your case to (Cas ) , inspite  of all the naysayers as well as the doubters / defectors . It is the right thing to do, the pursuit of justice .
:beermug:

Offline Deeks

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The honor has now gone to Ivan Jovanovic

Is this true ?

Offline asylumseeker

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The honor has now gone to Ivan Jovanovic

Is this true ?

Not the T+T job. Membership in the fraternity of having had a NT coaching gig but never actually coaching the NT in a match.

Offline davyjenny1

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Wait for the out come with FIFA first, file # *** ****-*- 6915

« Last Edit: April 21, 2020, 01:16:07 AM by davyjenny1 »
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the impossible lies in a person determination.

Your Knowledge is directly related to your potential income.
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Offline maxg

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Re: FIFA appoints normalisation committee for Trinidad and Tobago football
« Reply #259 on: April 08, 2020, 10:19:02 PM »
I just took a look to see an example of the workings of CAS in dealing with a football case

https://www.tas-cas.org/fileadmin/user_upload/Award_CAS_5264-5265-5266_internet.pdf

Check the length of time to get a decision. I got almost 30 months of Lott’s a bs. Of Course The applicant submissions were dismissed.
Something had me lil confused doh.

It might be the fact that Inter Miami got in, Miami FC out. Anyone have any more info on their (FC) application?

Add: appeals might not be as long but given the current world situation, an early response or resolution might still be long rather than short term. Due to the same world situation, we have time.
« Last Edit: April 08, 2020, 10:38:12 PM by maxg »

Offline Tallman

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The everlasting T&T football and cricket controversies
« Reply #260 on: April 09, 2020, 06:51:45 AM »
The everlasting T&T football and cricket controversies
By Colin Murray (T&T Guardian)


April 5 - a glorious, sunny day. No English Premier League football, no Indian Premier League cricket or for that matter, nothing sporting wise to watch so just another day of lockdown; or so I thought.

But this is T&T so I picked up the Sunday Guardian and there were the headlines; one read, 'Look Loy under fire from TTSL VP, clubs’ and the other, ‘Dillon: I didn’t get TTCB November letter’.

Even with no activity on the sporting field, there is seldom a dull moment off the field especially with football and cricket in this country. So I thought let me delve into these stories.

Now, I have no allegiance to Look Loy and I only knew him from school days when he was a tough, no-nonsense centre-half playing for St Mary’s College. Off the field, he is the same way - what you see is exactly what you get. Our paths crossed a few times after that when he was on the technical staff of Malick Secondary and Joe Public F.C. while I was at Fatima and Carib FC so I hold no brief for him.

I have since served with him over the last few years on the board of the T&T Super League (TTSL) as I was nominated by Queen’s Park Cricket Club to be on said board. Like any president, he has his own views on how things should run but credit must go to the board members as if they don’t agree with something, they let him know and if need be, it is put to a vote; and if he wins or loses, we move on together like any democratic board.

When Mr. Look Loy called me asking if I would support the TTSL giving US$2,000 as a donation to help cover the legal fees of the former executive of the T&T Football Association (TTFA), in their fight against FIFA’s implementation of a normalisation committee to the Court of Arbitration for Sport, I immediately said no. I felt it was not a board decision but rather a club decision to spend this money on legal fees.

As I was made to understand, I was the second board member to be contacted and as we both said no, Look Loy never bothered to contact the other members of the board as his next step was to contact all the clubs directly and allow them to make the decision.

I foresaw the responses coming from the clubs so I was indeed comfortable with the process. Ten clubs voted to support the TTFA and make the donation, two abstained and one replied by email asking if it was a joke. The evidence is there for all to see and I would say to those, seek and you shall find but there will always be those who don’t care to know the truth as many of us, unfortunately, thrive on propaganda and misinformation.

Perhaps I am simplifying the issue but it was a simple vote: yes or no to support the legal action of the TTFA board. Why even such a simple exercise must turn into stark controversy is baffling but once again, there are those in society who will oppose for opposing sake once they are not in charge or they don’t support who is in charge.

Look back at the TTSL, it is arguably one of the best-run leagues in the country. Fixtures are completed on time, payment to match officials are on time and once the sponsors who commit to sponsorship do their part, prize money is paid out.

Like Look Loy, I have no allegiance to Mervyn Dillon, T&T Red Force coach. I first encountered Mervyn when I managed the T&T regional team at the Red Stripe bowl back in Jamaica.

Unfortunately, I couldn’t continue with those duties due to my job commitments but then again, I was never asked after that. I suppose being persona non grata I didn’t fit the role that the T&T Cricket Board (TTCB) was after.

To be honest, I do feel for Dillon but how do these irregularities happen? Dillon says he got no letter from the TTCB of their intention to advertise for his position when his contract ends but the board says he was informed via a letter in November? So who does one believe?

Again, something as simple as this turns into a big controversy. Don’t get me wrong, the board has all right to advertise the post but why am I getting the feeling that something is not sitting right? Is this the only post being advertised and if so why? Surely there must be a multitude of posts within the organisation to be advertised when the cricket season ends.

Please, correct me if I am wrong but I haven’t seen any advertisements for Under-19, U-17 coaches, etc. Aren’t coaches throughout the system just as important as the senior coach? It leaves me to wonder if Dillon’s position has been advertised for more than cricketing reasons.

Over the years, we have been humbled, humiliated and beaten and we never changed coach or for that matter, the entire management team. But, here is a case where we finished second and the team seemed to be improving and we are suddenly advertising for a senior coach.

Come on, TTCB. You can do better than this. If the incumbent is not wanted other than for cricketing reasons, then sack him and put the person whom you think is better suited to do the job; that is also within your right. But, how do you not rehire a man who led the team in the last three matches to a first innings win and two outright victories, one being against the champions?

Best of luck.
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Offline Tallman

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Wallace: We are still in charge
« Reply #261 on: April 09, 2020, 06:59:29 AM »
Wallace: We are still in charge
By Walter Alibey (T&T Guardian)


William Wallace, who was removed as the president of the T&T Football Association (TTFA) has made it known that he and his executive, vice presidents Clynt Taylor, Joseph 'Sam' Phillip and Susan Joseph-Warrick, are still in charge of the management of the sport in T&T.

Wallace, who is also the president of the Secondary Schools Football League (SSFL), said in a video statement on Wednesday that he can only be removed by the operations of the TTFA's constitution and not by the sport's world governing body-FIFA, of which the country (TTFA) is a member.

On March 17, the FIFA informed the General Secretary of TTFA Ramesha Ramdhan that the executive has been removed and a normalization committee will govern the sport in T&T after it was felt that the instability of the TTFA, coupled with its unconvincing plans to clear debts that have crippled the sport for many years in the twin-island Republic, had left a lot to be desired. As such the FIFA enforced Article 8.2 of its Statutes, allowing a normalisation committee to take control of the sport for a maximum of two years.

The FIFA, which is headed by Gianni Infantino, who Wallace has fingered as a known supporter of the previous TTFA administration under David John-Williams, agreed to remove the William Wallace-led football executive, which was just three months into its four-year tenure, after being elected on November 24. On March 27 FIFA named the Normalisation Committee with businessman Robert Hadad as chairman, and Environmental Specialist and attorney Judy Daniel, as deputy chairman together with retired banker Nigel Ramano and said that two other members will be named soon. On Monday, the TTFA challenged FIFA's decision through the Court and Arbitration for Sports (CAS) based in Lausanne, Switzerland, where the FIFA headquarters is located.

However, Wallace made it clear that his association was formed by an act of Parliament to serve the public interest in the nation.

He said, "That our relationship with FIFA is vital. We the duly elected executive of the TTFA, cannot simply ignore the decision of the FIFA, which seeks to impinge on our national sovereignty and jeopardise football in T&T. We remain, however, committed to working constructively with the FIFA, and other international organisations in the interest of the sport and the interest of T&T."

In his video statement on Wednesday he said: "It is for this reason that two evenings ago, I gave instructions to the TTFA Attorneys to file an appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sports (CAS), challenging FIFA's decision to attempt to interfere with the day-to-day affairs of the TTFA. The Attorneys have confirmed that this was done and that we have been assigned a case number (CAS 2020/A/6915).

"FIFA and its purported normalisation committee, headed by Hadad, had no standing. Make no mistake about it, we the duly and properly elected executive of the TTFA, remain in charge of the association's business."

Only this week, the TTFA, through its lawyers Dr Emir Crowne and Matthew GW Gayle officially filed an application to challenge FIFA through the CAS after paying a fee of $1,000 Swiss Francs. It is expected to pay another undisclosed amount for the service of the arbitrators.

Also on Wednesday, Wallace sought to dismiss claims the embattled football association could face being banned for challenging the FIFA.

The TTFA lawyers have proposed that Englishman Mark Hovell, a solicitor from Manchester, England, be the sole arbitrator in their case against football’s world governing body FIFA.

Hovell is a highly experienced sports lawyer and insolvency practitioner who specialises in regulatory, governance, commercial and financial matters, across all sports, both in the UK and across the world.

Additionally, he sits regularly as an arbitrator at the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) and The FA's regulatory commissions.

FIFA has until April 14 to submit their comments regarding the request - whether they agree to a sole arbitrator deciding matters and Hovell's appointment.

The local football boss said they are only following the guidelines of the FIFA Statutes, which gives member associations the right to challenge FIFA if they feel wronged in a situation. He made it clear he was not thinking about facing any suspension for the actions of the TTFA. However, Wallace promised it would be another matter, if the TTFA should be banned for following the Statutes of the FIFA, saying they will deal with that if and when it comes.

He told Guardian Media Sports yesterday that member associations could face a different action by FIFA if they challenge the world governing body through the local courts.
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Offline Flex

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Re: FIFA appoints normalisation committee for Trinidad and Tobago football
« Reply #262 on: April 09, 2020, 11:49:24 AM »
Wallace: FIFA cannot remove me.
By Narissa Fraser (Newsday).


FORMER TT Football Association (TTFA) president William Wallace is adamant he is still the head of the association despite FIFA’s appointment of a normalisation committee. He said based on the TTFA’s constitution, FIFA cannot remove executive members from the board.

Wallace was elected TTFA president in November 2019, replacing the David John-Williams-led team.

Throughout their campaign, Wallace’s team promised to bring transparency and honesty to the association.

But in a release on March 17, FIFA said the decision was made because of the TTFA’s “low financial management methods” and “a massive debt.” It was done under article 8:2 of FIFA’s statutes and will be led by businessman Robert Hadad.

But in a video published on Wednesday, Wallace confirmed he and his deputies Clynt Taylor, Susan Joseph-Warrick and Joseph Sam Phillip filed an appeal against the decision to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS).  He said FIFA is trying to “jeopardise football in T&T.

“I was elected on a platform of transparency and financial probity. We stood in a position with the financial mismanagement, botched projects and the cronyism of the previous administration. We stood on a platform of eliminating the TTFA’s debt and returning football to the people of T&T.”

He said his team was not given a chance to implement its plans to resolve the association’s woes, calling the decision a “total injustice.”
He said normalisation committee “has no standing.

“To be clear, I remain the president of the TTFA based on our constitution. The TTFA was created by an act of parliament to serve the public interest.

“I can only be removed by the operation of the TTFA’s own constitution – not by FIFA.” But he said the association’s relationship with FIFA is vital and its decision cannot be ignored.

They will be represented by Dr Emir Crowne and Matthew Gayle to fight the group’s battle against the global governing body. He said they have since been assigned the case number CAS2020/a/6915.

“We remain committed to working constructively with FIFA and other international organisations in the interest of the sport and in the interest of T&T.

“Make no mistake about it, we the duly and properly elected executive of the TTFA, remain in charge of the association’s business.”

RELATED NEWS

Bring it on! Wallace and Look Loy discuss Fifa fight, media backlash and Peter Miller
By Lasana Liburd (Wired868).


Trinidad and Tobago Football Association (TTFA) president William Wallace vowed to file an appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) today, as the local body attempts to stave off a take-over by global governing body, Fifa.

On 17 March, Fifa general secretary Fatma Samoura announced the governing body’s decision to immediately replace the TTFA’s board with a normalisation committee, now headed by local businessman Robert Hadad.

Wallace, who was elected TTFA president on 24 November 2019, said the local body raised the 1,000 Swiss Francs (TT$7,000) necessary to lodge its complaint.

It could take another 15,000 Swiss Francs (TT$104,000) to meet the cost of arbitration. And that’s before things get really tricky, as TTFA attorneys Dr Emir Crowne and Matthew Gayle—who are working pro bono—cross swords with the legal team for the mammoth sporting body that has 201 member associations and cash reserves of over US$2.7 billion (TT$18 billion).

Wallace, who is also a retired vice-principal at the Carapichaima East Secondary school, is adamant about the morality of his position.

“For me, it is a matter of treating with injustice,” said Trinidad and Tobago Football Association (TTFA) president William Wallace. “At the end of the day, I know we are going up against a mountain; but we have to tell our story—win, lose or draw.

“After that, whatever happens, happen.”

Article 8.2 of the Fifa constitution states that: ‘Executive bodies of member associations may under exceptional circumstances be removed from office by the Council in consultation with the relevant confederation and replaced by a normalisation committee for a specific period of time’.

The seven-member Fifa Bureau of the Council, which is effectively the body’s emergency committee, claimed that the TTFA’s financial situation met its criteria of ‘exceptional circumstances’.

However, Fifa recognises CAS, a fellow Switzerland-based entity, as its final court of appeal (article 14 and 58) and Wallace hopes to sway the latter body. Fifa is based in Zurich while CAS is in Lausanne.

At present, CAS is only offering hearings via video conference, due to the novel coronavirus pandemic, and Wallace has no idea when an arbitrator will be appointed for their matter.

The Trinidad and Tobago Super League (TTSL), Secondary School Football League (SSFL), Northern Football Association (NFA), Trinidad and Tobago Football Referees Association (TTFRA), TT Women’s League of Football (WoLF) and Trinidad and Tobago American Youth Soccer Organisation (TTAYSO) have offered written support of Wallace’s position.

They represent 17 of the TTFA’s 49 delegates, or roughly 35 percent of the local football ecosystem. Even then, the support is not necessarily unanimous; although, according to TTSL president Keith Look Loy, the divisions were possibly overstated in the media.

Thirteen TTSL clubs participated in the 2019 season. Ten of them voted to back Wallace. They were: Bethel United, Club Sando, Erin FC, FC Santa Rosa, Police FC, Prison Services, Petit Valley/Diego Martin United, RSSR FC, San Fernando Giants and UTT FC.

Matura ReUnited and QPCC, who have Hadad as a member, abstained. And Guaya United asked if the request was ‘a joke’.

Subsequent to the TTSL’s public declaration of support for the besieged TTFA president, Guaya manager Randy Hagley expressed dissatisfaction with the wording of the release—which said: ‘the clubs of the TTSL wish to communicate their support…’—while TTSL vice-president Jameson Rigues claimed to be unaware of the request for support.

Look Loy said Rigues was not informed because he opted to go straight to the clubs, who are voting delegates of the TTFA, rather than the TTSL’s board.

“I was doing a round robin of the board and I first approached Eddie Dean and Collin Murray and they said the clubs [rather than the board] should decide,” said Look Loy. “So I stopped the round robin right there and decided to go straight to the clubs. So I didn’t consult the rest of the board.

“[…] The decision was taken in a very transparent and democratic way. All of the clubs were advised of the issue. Ten voted in favour, two abstained and one did not agree.

“The issue [regarding whether the TTSL support for Wallace was overstated] is a non-issue but it is part of an ongoing attempt by some who are consumed by their hatred for Look Loy and are always guided by that.”

Look Loy suggested that there was a campaign by some media houses against the current TTFA administration and himself and pointed to the misinterpretation of his comments about TTFA general secretary Ramesh Ramdhan.

A TV6 report suggested that Look Loy accused Ramdhan of ‘leaking’ information to the normalisation committee. Sports reporter James Saunders told Wired868 that he took ownership for the mix-up, apologised and subsequently corrected the error on-air.

But the claim of internal discord was still republished in the Trinidad Guardian and discussed on air by I95.5FM.

“I think that the media—and in particular the Guardian Media—have taken up the mantle of some kind of campaign against the TTFA administration,” said Look Loy. “I will use the immediate example of this business with Ramdhan which was seized upon by the Guardian and I95.5.

“[…] It is unprofessional, lazy work at best; or, at worst, a campaign to sell the message that Look Loy is an ogre who is always looking to fight with somebody.”

Look Loy also took offence at a claim by Trinidad Guardian sports editor Keith Clement that the TTSL president was a friend of controversial British marketing official Peter Miller, and involved in a TTFA approach to the Arima Borough Corporation on behalf of obscure organisation, Lavender Consultants.

“I had no part in that [proposal] but then Clement writes a big article in the Guardian and says that Keith Look Loy is ‘reportedly a friend of Peter Miller’,” he said. “Why bring my name in that? I have absolutely nothing to do with that—I have never been in a meeting [and] I don’t know the details. To say that Miller and I have ever been in a project or any sort of business together is not true.

“[…] My focus is technical matters, criticise me for that. Don’t bring me into your foolishness if you want to criticise someone else’s portfolio… It must be that they feel I am the ramrod in the outfit, so let us go after him to undermine the credibility of the entire outfit.”

Clement and I95.5FM talk show host Andre Baptiste did not respond to requests for comments on their coverage of the TTFA or the accusations levelled by Wallace and Look Loy.

Although Look Loy distanced himself from Miller, there is no question that the businessman played a role in the electoral campaign of Wallace’s United TTFA slate.

In documentation between Lavender Consultants and the Arima Borough, Miller signed under the title of ‘TTFA marketing director’. Wallace confirmed that the TTFA board never hired a marketing director.

“We did discuss outsourcing marketing at the board but we have not yet signed off with any individual or entity,” said Wallace. “Peter worked with us before the elections and continued work after the elections; and I am sure when the pre-elections plans started to unfold, he would have been considered and proposed to the board.”

Wallace said that any reference to Miller as a TTFA employee was an ‘error’ and suggested he was the ‘United TTFA marketing director’.

“It was originally United TTFA, so that is an error that carried over,” said the TTFA president. “The discussion [regarding] this deal started before the elections.”

Miller’s first job in Trinidad, almost 20 years ago, was at the W Connection Football Club, owned by former TTFA president David John-Williams. He then took up an executive role at the Football Company of Trinidad and Tobago (FCoTT) under Jack Warner.

In both cases, Miller is believed to have delivered considerably less than he promised. He was subsequently accused of more of the same—and much, much worse—at English clubs from Northampton and Luton Town to Port Vale.

Wired868 asked Wallace if he held any concerns about aligning the TTFA’s brand with someone of Miller’s reputation.

“This information [about fraudulent past behaviour by Miller] is news to me,” said Wallace. “Nobody has presented this info to me. If the information is credible, I will of course be concerned.”

Still, Look Loy stressed that Miller, as far as he was aware, was not a TTFA employee and only due a commission based on what business he brought to the table.

“I obviously know that he was involved in organising some of these promised sponsorships that were unveiled when the United TTFA ran its [election] campaign, like the Nike deal,” said Look Loy. “And when that fell down he played a part in the Avec Sport contract. He never held a TTFA post but he might have been doing marketing work.

“My position to the board was that we should outsource [marketing and sales] to more than one entity on a commission basis, so if you bring a dollar you get 10 cents…”

For Wallace, the TTFA presidency has been a baptism of fire and it is left to be seen if he will get a chance to see it through.

Crucially, on the field of play, the only national team to play thus far—the Women’s National Under-20 Team—were quarterfinalists at the February Concacaf Championship. And appointments of popular local-based coaches like Terry Fenwick, Angus Eve and Derek King were warmly received by football fans.

But much of that bonhomie seems to have already deserted the football body.

“Since this normalisation committee occurred, there are so many people coming out of the woodwork to comment,” said Wallace, “and there is a narrative in certain media houses and you can see people taking sides. The truth doesn’t seem to matter in Trinidad and Tobago anymore.”

Incidentally, Wallace is still president of the SSFL. He was elected to the helm of the TTFA near the end of the SSFL’s 2019 season and decided to wait until the school body’s AGM in April 2020 to formally give his farewell speech. Former San Juan North Secondary principal Phillip Fraser has acted as SSFL president in the interim.

“Our [SSFL] AGM was supposed to be in early April and I was planning at that point in time to resign,” said Wallace. “Based on the situation now, I won’t be in a hurry to do that. I still have another year in my two year term [as SSFL president], so I will hold on that to see how things develops.”

« Last Edit: April 09, 2020, 12:12:10 PM by Flex »
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Offline Flex

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Re: FIFA appoints normalisation committee for Trinidad and Tobago football
« Reply #263 on: April 09, 2020, 12:08:24 PM »
Collective head-scratching as Fifa lists Corneal, De Four and Caesar as employees.
By Lasana Liburd (Wired868).


Who returned Anton Corneal, Stephan De Four and Wayne Caesar to their former Trinidad and Tobago Football Association (TTFA) portfolios?

At present, the Fifa website lists the aforementioned men as technical director, Women’s National Senior Team head coach and referee’s department head respectively. However, none of those appointments were made by the TTFA board and at least two of those roles were already filled.

The board hired Dion La Foucade as its technical director on 15 January while Boni Bishop was selected to head the referee’s department last month. They replaced Corneal and Caesar respectively—Corneal left the football body on 31 July 2019, after his contract was not renewed by then football president David John-Williams.

The top Women Soca Warriors coaching post was vacant, as the William Wallace-led administration sacked De Four on 14 December 2019 but had not named his replacement, with American Randy Waldrum believed to be their first choice.

At present, the TTFA is splintered due to a Fifa decision on 17 March 2020 to implement a normalisation committee in the twin island republic. It means that although Wallace remains the elected leader of the local football body, Fifa is recognising Robert Hadad as its man of business here.

Neither Wallace nor Hadad claim to know anything about the recent ‘appointments’, which showed up this weekend on the Fifa website.

“That is news to me—I haven’t seen that,” Hadad told Wired868. “Everyone was told that everything must remain as it is until we hear from Fifa. So we are moving in a holding pattern.”

Hadad said he will field a call from Fifa tomorrow, although he is not sure who he will speak to, since the governing body apparently assigned a few persons to ‘guide’ its normalisation committee on different things. He will ask for clarification on the inclusions of Corneal, De Four and Caesar.

The Hadco co-CEO and Queen’s Park Cricket Club (QPCC) member said he is anxious to meet the TTFA staff as soon as the government advises that it is safe for ‘non-essential’ companies to reopen, which could be as early as 16 April.

He hopes to access subvention money from Fifa, which was withheld from Wallace, to pay outstanding salaries to employees and technical staff members.

“For now, I am just looking at numbers and figures and the size of the debt, and trying to work out a strategy in terms of how we approach it,” said Hadad. “But I really want to meet the staff before I say more to the media.”

Corneal, for his part, said he was just as surprised and confused as everyone else.

“I know nothing about that [re-appointment] so I think it is false news,” he said. “Nothing was said to me.”

Wired868 confirmed that, generally, Fifa updates its member association information based on particulars sent directly by the general secretary or media officer of the respective football body, or through the latter’s website.

The TTFA’s website continues to list Wallace and his slate as its leaders with La Foucade and Terry Fenwick as technical director and Men’s National Senior Team head coach respectively.

Media manager Shaun Fuentes denied giving Fifa any ‘new’ information about the positions in question. General secretary Ramesh Ramdhan could not be reached by phone, although, based on Hadad’s position, it is unlikely that he would have done so.

Since Fifa lists Hadad as president and Judy Daniel—incorrectly added as ‘Daniel Judy’—as vice-president, it is certain that the Gianni Infantino-headed body has updated the TTFA’s page.

Time will tell whether the aforementioned additions of Corneal, De Four and Caesar were clerical errors or something more meaningful.

Fifa, in consultation with Concacaf, ‘reserves the right to revoke the mandate of any of the members of the TTFA normalisation committee and/or to appoint further members at any time’.

As such, Hadad and company can be ordered to follow the dictates of Fifa on most matters. But it is worth noting too that, according to the TTFA constitution, only the local football body’s board of directors can hire or fire employees.

Wallace and his vice-presidents, Clynt Taylor, Sharon Joseph-Warrick and Sam Phillip, have vowed to challenge Fifa’s decision to implement a normalisation committee in Trinidad and Tobago at the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS). They have until 8 April to do so.

Fifa did not respond to a request for clarification on its website entry, up until the time of publication.



« Last Edit: April 09, 2020, 02:20:33 PM by Flex »
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Re: FIFA appoints normalisation committee for Trinidad and Tobago football
« Reply #264 on: April 09, 2020, 02:25:43 PM »
The abnormal normalisation clause: how seven Fifa ‘gentlemen’ usurped 210 nations in war on the TTFA.
By Lasana Liburd (Wired868).


On 11 March 2020, the World Health Organisation (WHO) declared the Covid-19 outbreak to be a pandemic, which was unprecedented for a coronavirus. By then, Italy’s Serie A had already been halted by the government with multiple sporting competitions set to follow.

The Bureau of the Fifa Council promptly rescheduled an upcoming Fifa Council meeting from Friday 20 March to a ‘date yet to be confirmed in June-July 2020 at the Home of Fifa in Zurich or via video conference’.

But while Fifa president Gianni Infantino was happy to delay the core business of the world governing body, the affairs of Trinidad and Tobago—a country with a population of 1.4 million, which has not qualified for a Fifa competition in 11 years—appeared to be far too pressing.

So, on Tuesday 17 March, Infantino’s Bureau of the Fifa Council convened and ‘decided to appoint a normalisation committee for the Trinidad and Tobago Football Association (TTFA) in accordance with article 8 paragraph 2 of the Fifa Statutes’.

A day later, the same body held a second meeting.

“The Bureau of the Fifa Council chaired by Fifa president Gianni Infantino convened by conference call today,” Fifa stated on 18 March, “to address the exceptional circumstances created by the Covid-19 virus outbreak …”

TTFA president William Wallace, a former school teacher in his third month on the job, weighed heavier on the minds of Infantino and his inner circle than a global pandemic, wreaking havoc on healthcare systems, economies and, not least, sporting competitions?

Two weeks later, Trinidad and Tobago has the ‘what’, ‘when’ and ‘how’ of Fifa’s shock decision, while the ‘why’ remains a source of speculation. However, in a battle that seems to hinge on personalities, the ‘who’ might also be worth closer examination.

Fifa’s Council, which comprises of Infantino and 37 members elected from the various associations, is the equivalent of its board of directors. (Interestingly, Uefa is allowed three vice-presidents and six ordinary members, while other confederations get a single vice-presidential spot and between two to six ordinary members each.)

According to article 34 of the Fifa’s statutes, the Council ‘defines Fifa’s mission, strategic direction, policies and values—in particular with regard to the organisation and development of football at worldwide level and all related matters’ and ‘oversees the overall management of Fifa by the general secretariat’.

Article 11 states that only the Congress, an annual meeting of all 210 member associations, shall ‘decide whether to admit, suspend or expel a member association solely upon the recommendation of the Council’.

And decisions of the Congress, according to article 32, ‘come into effect for the member associations 60 days after the close of the Congress, unless the Congress fixes another date for a decision to take effect’.

Yet, Fifa has a separate committee, the seven-member Bureau of the Fifa Council headed by the president, with sweeping powers, whose decisions, according to article 38, ‘take immediate legal effect’. Decisions of the Bureau, like the call to implement a normalisation committee in Trinidad and Tobago, still need to be ratified by the Council at its next meeting in three or four months’ time.

But by then, if things follow their usual course, Wallace would have already resigned his post. Fifa, you see, cannot legally remove the president of a member association. The TTFA’s constitution states that only its members can do so, via three quarter of the valid votes at its general meeting.

However, what Fifa’s Bureau can do is enter sovereign jurisdictions and essentially create a second ‘shadow’ leader. And then, the Infantino-led body steps back and waits for the psychological pressure of its disapproval and the potential threat of suspension—a decision that does not rest with the Bureau—to coerce the targeted football president into falling on his or her own sword.

“Can the head of the normalisation committee go to the TTFA’s bank, produce the appointment letter from Fifa and withdraw money?” asked TTFA attorney Matthew Gayle.

So much for the legality of Fifa’s appointment of Robert Hadad, as the de facto head of Trinidad and Tobago football for the next two years.

Fifa offered to help the TTFA straighten out its constitution; maybe it should look at the beam in its own eye. By its actions, the Bureau is effectively wielding power over member associations that the Fifa statutes suggest should belong only to its Congress.

Article 8.2 states: ‘Executive bodies of member associations may under exceptional circumstances be removed from office by the Council in consultation with the relevant confederation and replaced by a normalisation committee for a specific period of time’.

And article 38.2 states: ‘The Bureau of the Council shall deal with all matters within the competence of the Council requiring immediate decision between two meetings of the Council’.

Two clauses that allow a decision meant to be overseen by 210 nations with a 60 day waiting period, to instead be made by seven persons—or, potentially, four—with immediate effect.

Before we look at the Bureau members whose identities were hidden behind the Fifa letterhead, it is worth revisiting the stated justification for intervention in the twin island republic:

‘The recent FIFA/Concacaf fact-finding mission to Trinidad and Tobago […] found that extremely low overall financial management methods, combined with a massive debt, have resulted in the TTFA facing a very real risk of insolvency and illiquidity.

‘Such a situation is putting at risk the organisation and development of football in the country and corrective measures need to be applied urgently.’

Much can be said about the fact that, over the last four years, Infantino, Mosengo-Omba and a host of mid-level Fifa and Concacaf officials held over a dozen meetings and symposiums in Trinidad, funded the football body, and approved its financial books annually without, apparently, discovering the ‘extremely low overall financial management methods’ that existed.

Or that Fifa then appointed finance manager Tyril Patrick, the person who oversaw the financial shambles, to run the local body.

It is not only former TTFA presidents—John-Williams and the late Raymond Tim Kee and Oliver Camps—who should be made to account for the Bureau’s charge; but also Fifa bigwigs like Mosengo-Omba, secretary general Fatma Samoura and, ultimately, Infantino himself.

Under what logic should Wallace, just three months into the job, be penalised for the mess that ‘DJW’ and Infantino left him.

“We commissioned an audit into [the TTFA’s internal structure] by our finance people and they provided a report which we [gave] to [Fifa],” said Wallace, who immediately targeted the body’s financial structure. “Fifa didn’t come in and discover that—we gave it to them and their response was that this is 50 percent of their job done.

“We went into an organisation with a total absence of financial structure and were working on developing one.”

Since Fifa never released the annual US$1.2 million (TT$8 million) Forward Programme money that the TTFA is entitled to, Wallace turned to good samaritans like Kendall Tull, a consultant with decades of financial management and audit experience, who agreed to help spearhead the necessary reform for free.

Tull, who sat in on meetings with the Fifa/Concacaf mission in February, was dumbfounded by the Bureau’s subsequent claims.

“One of the things that was said by the Concacaf representation, Alejandro [Kesende], was it is the first time he has ever come [to Trinidad] and someone spoke his language in relation to the financial issues facing the organisation,” said Tull, “and in terms of the lack of internal controls and other issues that have been plaguing the organisation. They literally said that the report we gave to them that outlined what we found and had recommendations about how we would proceed going forward made their jobs a whole lot easier.

“They recognised that the new administration understood what the circumstances were and were taking steps to address them. All of that was actually said.

“So you would not have thought on the basis of what they said—we are not debating whether what they said [about the weakness of the TTFA’s structure] is untrue—but to suggest we were not addressing it as a matter of urgency and priority is a misrepresentation. That absolutely is not the case.”

Now is as good a time as any to look beyond the ‘Fifa letterhead’ at the seven men who comprise the Fifa Bureau.

Fifa did not respond to Wired868’s request for the names of the persons who made the infamous decision on 17 March. But we know the president of each confederation is entitled to sit in at Bureau meetings.

Those are: Victor Montagliani (Concacaf), Alejandro Dominguez (Conmebol), Aleksander Ceferin (Uefa), Lambert Maltock (Oceania), Salman bin Ibrahim Al Khalifa (Asia) and Ahmad Ahmad (Africa).

Dominguez, a 48 year old businessman, had a meteoric rise to the role of Fifa vice-president. He served for just three years as Paraguay football president before he was promoted to president of the entire South American confederation and given a Fifa VP jacket.

“I saw the opportunity,” Dominguez told the media. “I didn’t see the crisis.”

The ‘opportunity’ that allowed his rapid ascension was US Department of Justice investigations that led to charges against three successive Conmebol presidents—Nicolás Leoz, Eugenio Figueredo and Juan Ángel Napout, the latter described by one publication as Dominguez’s ‘close friend’—within the space of three years.
Dominguez potentially stood in judgment of Wallace’s administration, two weeks ago.

Then there is the 63-year-old Maltock, who is in his third term as Oceania president and has been at the helm of the Vanuatu Football Federation since 2008. Vanuatu are ranked 163rd in the world and less is known about Maltock than his tiny homeland of 272,000 people.

Ceferin, a 52 year old Slovenian sport attorney by profession, has made a name for himself as European president by standing up for his confederation’s smaller clubs and associations.

Did he vote to implement a normalisation committee in Trinidad too? That would be interesting, since the TTFA’s debt is TT$50 million or just under €7 million. At present, the Football Association of Ireland, which continues to run its own affairs, is €55 million (TT$407 million) in debt.

Ceferin—or any Eufa proxy who might have represented him—should have some explaining to do.

Wallace would not want to harass the 54-year-old Asian Football Confederation president Al Khalifa, who is a member of the House of Khalifa which is the ruling family of the Kingdom of Bahrain.

Campaign groups like Human Rights Watch, Americans for Democracy and Human Rights in Bahrain and the Bahrain Institute for Rights and Democracy accused Al Khalifa of heading a committee that identified athletes—including international Bahraini footballers—involved in pro-democracy demonstrations during the ‘Arab Spring’ in 2011, many of whom were later imprisoned.

The Bahraini administrator’s allegedly macabre duties for the House of Khalifa lack the flair of his counterpart from the Africa Football Confederation.

Like Al Khalifa, the 60-year-old Ahmad simultaneously holds sporting and political office. He is senator in Madagascar while also heading the Malagasy Football Federation and running African football. (Meanwhile Wallace vowed not to attempt to serve as Secondary Schools Football League (SSFL) president and TTFA boss at the same time.)

Despite those three massive portfolios, Ahmad, according to former Caf general secretary Amr Fahmy, found time to sexually harass staff and siphon off money from the African football body. The president, naturally, denies the accusation.

Last June, Ahmad was arrested by French authorities but subsequently released without charge as part of ‘a probe into corruption, breach of trust and forgery’.

But Ahmad’s most memorable alleged indiscretion came during the Russia 2018 World Cup. He billed Caf for US$18,450 in daily allowances for a 41-day stay in the host nation between 7 June and 17 July. But, between 23 June and 1 July, he also trousered another US$4,050 for a trip to Cairo under the heading of ‘Visit to Caf Bureau’.

He was simultaneously collecting money for being in Egypt and Russia at the same time. So where was he? According to BBC, documents suggest that Ahmad was actually back in Madagascar for at least four of those days.

Fifa did not confirm whether the 60-year-old Ahmad was on the conference call that made a damning judgment on the state of the TTFA’s finances. But clearly he can be a hard man to pin down.

And then there is Montagliani, the 54-year-old Canadian who holds the distinction of being the first Concacaf president from outside of the Caribbean since 1991—a job that relies in large part on a splintered relationship between the islands.

Montagliani and John-Williams share the dodgy distinction of both showing popular Canada-based Trinidadian coach Stephen Hart to the door. Both enjoyed similar ‘benefits’ from it.

Montagliani was Canada football president for barely five months when Hart’s push towards the Concacaf Hex ended with a catastrophic 8-1 loss away to Honduras. He accepted the coach’s resignation and Canada subsequently plummeted to its lowest ever Fifa ranking of 122.

The Canadian football team was 75th in the world when he took over; and, by the time he was promoted to Concacaf president, it was 109th.

Presumably, Montagliani would see himself as capable of ‘advising’ the TTFA about the necessary steps towards regaining its former glory.

The Concacaf president got uncomfortably close to TTFA politics in recent times.

Just weeks before last November’s election in Couva, Montagliani solicited a letter from Nike North America Sports Marketing Senior Counsel, Zoe Brathwaite, which raised questions about a campaign promise made by Wallace. The Canadian forwarded the letter to John-Williams and it surfaced just two days before the TTFA’s AGM.

“I had a [Concacaf] meeting in December and I asked the president of Concacaf [Victor Montagliani] about the letter,” said Wallace, in a previous interview, “and he explained to me that he was asked by the Trinidad FA to look into arrangement of the Nike deal.

“And in talking to Nike, [Concacaf] indicated that, since Nike was a sponsor of Concacaf, if they supported [Wallace’s slate] they would be supporting an entity that was running against one of the Concacaf members—which was Trinidad and Tobago—and it would look like interference in an election. And Nike stepped back.”

Could Montagliani’s act be viewed as interference in a local election? And, if so, should he now be involved in effectively nullifying that electoral result?

Article 38.5 of the Fifa statutes states: ‘The President is entitled to designate a deputy for any member who is unable to attend or has a conflict of interest. The deputy shall belong to the Council and the same confederation as the member who is unable to attend or has a conflict of interest’.

Wired868 asked Concacaf whether Montagliani represented the confederation at the Bureau meeting of 17 March. Up until the time of publication, there was no response.

Might Infantino also be deemed to be ‘conflicted’?

Six days before the TTFA election, the Fifa president showed up in Couva to open the Home of Football and referred to John-Williams as his ‘teammate’ in a speech to football stakeholders and journalists:

“I came to Trinidad and Tobago, and I was not believing to find somebody like [David John-Williams] in Trinidad and Tobago. I have to say the truth. Because the Trinidad and Tobago Football Association was more or less in the same state as Fifa at that time. David was saying ‘shambles’, I say shambles was maybe a compliment for the state you found.

“We found a Federation which was under the earth. TTFA, Trinidad and Tobago Football, very sadly, was in the headlines for other reasons than football, even though linked to football. Today, we are here, and proud to be here, because today, Trinidad and Tobago is the capital of the world of football.”

In truth, when John-Williams was elected president in November 2015, he met a body that was:

(Finances) $16 million in debt;

(Men’s) Ranked 49th in the world and successive Gold Cup quarterfinalists;

(Women’s) Missed the 2014 Women World Cup by the slenderest margin after a 1-0 two-legged aggregate loss to Ecuador in a Fifa Play Off.

At the time that Infantino lavished praise on DJW, the TTFA was:

(Finances) TT$50 million in debt;

(Men’s) Ranked 104th in the world and had just set all-time records for longest losing streak, win-less streak and run of games without scoring;

(Women’s) Failed to even qualify for Concacaf round of the 2020 Olympic qualifying series, after being embarrassed 4-1 at home to St Kitts and Nevis.

The TTFA’s membership was not swayed by Infantino’s praise and, in front of Fifa and Concacaf observers, voted 26-20 to replace John-Williams with Wallace.

On Wallace’s first working day, the Home of Football was declared closed, since it lacked proper insurance and clearances and was deemed unsafe for use.

Further, TTFA general secretary Ramesh Ramdhan said the local football body planned to investigate spending at the Fifa project—which had at least TT$16 million unaccounted for—and would publicise its findings, even if Fifa officials like Mosengo-Omba were named.

How, then, could Infantino sit dispassionately in judgment of Wallace’s administration?

Thus far, Wallace has declared his intention to appeal the Fifa decision to the Court of Arbitration for Sport. Victory would be unprecedented. But perhaps a legal battle would reveal as much about the flaws in Fifa as it does the TTFA.

And, more relevantly, it would turn the spotlight on seven men who wielded the authority of 210 member associations—and the controversial, wide-ranging clause that allowed it.

Editor’s Note: A US-based group called Supporters of United TTFA has opened a Go Fund Me account to help finance the football body’s appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport. Click HERE for more information.

TTFA president William Wallace has vowed to ‘oppose Fifa’s injustice at the Court of Arbitration for Sport’. Click HERE for more information.

Video - TTFA v FIFA: Wired868's Lasana Liburd talks to TV6 Morning Edition

« Last Edit: April 09, 2020, 03:18:29 PM 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 Sando

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Re: FIFA appoints normalisation committee for Trinidad and Tobago football
« Reply #265 on: April 09, 2020, 02:57:03 PM »

In truth, when John-Williams was elected president in November 2015, he met a body that was:

(Finances) $16 million in debt;

(Men’s) Ranked 49th in the world and successive Gold Cup quarterfinalists;

(Women’s) Missed the 2014 Women World Cup by the slenderest margin after a 1-0 two-legged aggregate loss to Ecuador in a Fifa Play Off.

At the time that Infantino lavished praise on DJW, the TTFA was:

(Finances) TT$50 million in debt;

(Men’s) Ranked 104th in the world and had just set all-time records for longest losing streak, win-less streak and run of games without scoring;

(Women’s) Failed to even qualify for Concacaf round of the 2020 Olympic qualifying series, after being embarrassed 4-1 at home to St Kitts and Nevis.

The TTFA’s membership was not swayed by Infantino’s praise and, in front of Fifa and Concacaf observers, voted 26-20 to replace John-Williams with Wallace.

On Wallace’s first working day, the Home of Football was declared closed, since it lacked proper insurance and clearances and was deemed unsafe for use.

Further, TTFA general secretary Ramesh Ramdhan said the local football body planned to investigate spending at the Fifa project—which had at least TT$16 million unaccounted for—and would publicise its findings, even if Fifa officials like Mosengo-Omba were named.

How, then, could Infantino sit dispassionately in judgment of Wallace’s administration?

Very interesting !!!!

Lasana is a boss writer.

Good job.


Offline maxg

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Re: FIFA appoints normalisation committee for Trinidad and Tobago football
« Reply #266 on: April 09, 2020, 04:27:35 PM »
Would love to get those Lasana pieces in a UK tabloid. It will probably garner more interest and support than in this region.

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Re: FIFA appoints normalisation committee for Trinidad and Tobago football
« Reply #267 on: April 10, 2020, 07:22:44 AM »
Wallace's team picks Hovell for FIFA dispute.
T&T Guardian Reports.


Dr Emir Crowne and Matthew GW Gayle, the lawyers representing the ousted executive of the Trinidad and Tobago Football Association (TTFA), have proposed that Mark Hovell the highly experienced sports lawyer from Manchester, England, be the sole arbitrator in their case against football’s world governing body FIFA.

Hovell is a highly experienced sports lawyer and insolvency practitioner who specialises in regulatory, governance, commercial and financial matters, across all sports, both in the UK and across the world.

Additionally, he sits regularly as an arbitrator at the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) in Lausanne, Switzerland and The FA’s regulatory commissions.

FIFA has until April 14 to submit their comments regarding the request – whether they agree to a sole arbitrator deciding matters and Hovell’s appointment.

CAS appeals cost about $20,000 with the appellant’s legal costs generally doubling that amount. The filed appeal by former president Wallace and his three vice presidents Clynt Taylor, Joseph 'Sam' Phillip and Susan Joseph-Warrick, requests a sole arbitrator that, depending on the case, would reduce fees to $10,000 and expedite the process. Currently, the appellants have paid the first CHF 1,000 to file the appeal, quite where they will get the rest required to proceed is unclear.

In a video statement on Wednesday on their crowdsourcing ‘gofundme’ page, Wallace maintains that he is still in charge of the TTFA, saying: “To be clear I remain president of TTFA based on our constitution… I can only be removed by the operation of the TTFA’s constitution, not by FIFA.”

However, Wallace and his team have raised part of the money fund via the fundraising page showed no movement from Wednesday's total contribution which was at $3,155 up to press time and it was at the same amount up to press time again yesterday. The last contribution of US$50 was made on Monday. The target by Wallace's team is TT$300,000 to $500,000 or the estimated US$25,000 for the CAS appeal.

One of those that have donated is Keith Look Loy, the TTFA’s former technical committee chair under the Wallace administration, who paid in $200. Look Loy is the president of the Trinidad and Tobago Super League, who has said that the league’s clubs have agreed on a donation of $2,000.

A supporter Elvin Edwards has made the single biggest contribution of US$1,000 with Wallace contributing teh second largest amount of US$500.

On March 17, FIFA wrote to the TTFA advising them that they were appointing a normalisation committee to take over the running of the heavily indebted association. However, despite protests from the executive because such a move would be in breach of the TTFA constitution, FIFA proceeded to name members of the committee on March 26.

The action prompted the attorneys to file an appeal to set aside FIFA’s decision before the CAS on Monday, April 6.

On Wednesday, CAS acknowledged receipt of the appeal and issued a case number CAS2020/A/6915.

Wallace and his team also pointed to the Court that: Due to the implications of this matter, and the importance of football to Trinidad and Tobago (and the wider Caribbean region generally), the Appellants request a hearing of this appeal on an expedited basis.

a. To the extent that the CAS’ Emergency Guidelines are not extended and to the extent that the ban on international flights entering Trinidad and Tobago is lifted on/by June 1, 2020, the Appellants ask that the matter be heard in-person in Trinidad & Tobago at the earliest point thereafter. Indeed, as the Appellants and most (if not all) of the relevant witnesses, all reside within Trinidad & Tobago, the balance of convenience tips in favour of that location in our respectful view.

b. In the alternative, and if the CAS’ Emergency Guidelines and the current ban on flights entering Trinidad & Tobago are both extended beyond June 1st, 2020, the Appellants respectfully request that the matter be heard by video-conferencing means.

c. Nonetheless, whether through video-conferencing or in-person, the Appellants ask that the hearing be open to the public.

The lawyers now have until April 17, 10 days from when the appeal was due to be filed, which was Tuesday, April 7. Should they fail to do so. CAS will deem the appeal withdrawn.

FIFA then has 20 days to respond to the filed brief. They would be expected to do so by early May.

CAS has also invited the TTFA lawyers to consider the possibility of mediation.

According to a Sportsmax Antonio De Quesada, Head of Arbitration at CAS stated: “I take this opportunity to draw the Parties’ attention to the possibility of submitting this dispute to CAS mediation, which would not prejudice the Parties’ rights to subsequently re-submit the dispute to arbitration, should the dispute remain unresolved at the conclusion of the mediation procedure. A successful mediation procedure would result in a binding settlement, the terms of which have been agreed upon by both Parties.”

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« Last Edit: April 10, 2020, 07:32:02 AM by Flex »
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Re: FIFA appoints normalisation committee for Trinidad and Tobago football
« Reply #268 on: April 10, 2020, 10:42:01 AM »
Given the way how FIFA conducted themselves with the previous admin,especially the support of a grown debt - 16 M to 50 M without any intense investigation and their current unfair removal of the present TTFA admin. I don't think mediation with a positive result is possible. To many crooks in that kitchen, historically and currently. Now, the question is, can little we remove them given our real and present debt situation ? Very unlikely. So besides reinstatement of the elected body. What else should we demand, if any ?

I think they should totally fund the completion of the Hotel/Dorm, as well as launch their own internal investigation into the reasons whereby the prev. admin had a debt of 34 M and whoever played a part in that accumulation, through their NC reps. In a published report, advising the current admin how to proceed with and their(Fifa) help to eradicating that debt.
With normal annual contributions (not asking for no more than any other admin), leave the current TTFA to handle any future admin, and financial dealings going forward. The NC can also monitor the debt growth of the current admin for the next 24 months .

Is that asking to much ?

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Kudos to TTFA president for standing up to FIFA
« Reply #269 on: April 11, 2020, 09:26:30 AM »
Kudos to TTFA president for standing up to FIFA
T&T Express


Kudos must go out to Mr William Wallace, current elected president of the Trinidad and Tobago Football Association (TTFA), for standing his ground with the imposition from the Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA).

Mr Wallace is right in pointing out to the international body that indeed he and his other executive members were elected by due democratic process and was, and still is, the choice of people who have a vested interest in football in Trinidad and Tobago.

The scenario posited by opposition to the newly elected executive as concerned the closing down of the football centre in Couva and financial issues which the governing body is now faced with, just does not come into the equation.

The TTFA president's comment that the centre is just not ready for occupation is good enough to put on hold.

We must remember that the centre was opened just prior to the TTFA's election last year and questions have been raised as to the urgency.

Also, the financial difficulties which the association finds itself embroiled in could not have been the fault of the present executive but that of its predecessors.

It just has not been in power long enough to be blamed.

This large sum of money owed to personnel and institutions is certainly the mismanagement and/or negligence of past administrations.

Local sports in T&T has had its fair share of international interference in the past.

From our cricketers being blamed for "illegal arm action" just when their talents begin to flourish to bans on athletes for doping without the input of local administration.

It is refreshing to know that at least one "elected" individual in a democratically elected executive in at least one sporting discipline is asking that there be less interference on the execution of their responsibilities and duties.

The unusual appointment of the "normalization committee" sounds very suspicious and deleterious.

If a democratically elected body is to do what it was put there to do, it needs its independence with little or no outside interference. This intervention reeks of political interference.

WKS Hosein
Chaguanas
The Conquering Lion of Judah shall break every chain.

 

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