TTSL aborted AGM/Elections on Sunday but...
The continuation of last Sunday's aborted annual general meeting (AGM) and election of officers of the T&T Super League (TTSL) are set to take place on Sunday virtually, but interim president Jameson Rigues has another date set for the meeting.
The meeting which was held virtually on Sunday last to elect either Rigues or Clayton Morris, the former T&T Strike Squad defender and captain, as the replacement for former president Keith Look Loy, had to be called off due to disruptions, both Rigues and board member Eddison Dean have said.
Rigues has been against the staging of the elections virtually as he says it violates the process of secret-ballot that is required by the TTSL constitution.
On Tuesday, however, all four board members - Dean, Anderson Veronique, Colin Murray and Terry Joseph voted unanimously to have the continuation of the meeting held this Sunday. Rigues, who told Guardian Media Sports that he was not attending the meeting because it was not legitimately called, was true to his word, failing to sign at the 6 pm start.
The TTSL boss said yesterday he was in possession of a letter from the relevant authorities that gave permission to the Super League membership to have a face-to-face election, as required by the constitution of the TTSL. The meeting is to be held at a venue where all the COVID-19 restrictions can be adhered to.
The former Guaya United manager did not say who granted permission for the meeting to be held but noted that with the letter, he intends to propose a December 20 date for the election to be held at the Cascadia Hotel in St Ann's.
Rigues said he will call a meeting of the board and the membership today to lobby for the election to be held on December 20 at the St Ann's facility. Only recently, the membership of the Northern Football Association (NFA) received permission from Commissioner of Police Gary Griffith to stage their AGM and elections at the same venue on December 12.
Sunday's meeting is expected to begin with the election of a president and it could be without the seven suspended clubs - Central 500, Defence Force, Harlem Strikers, Marabella Family Crisis Centre, Tobago Phoenix, WASA and the Youth Stars - all eager to find out about their current status, as well as get voting rights.
The clubs were suspended for either being non-compliant with the TTFA/CONCACAF/FIFA or they were unable to pay the registration fee to gain entry into the League. Rigues said he also intends to pursue the situation with the suspended clubs so that no member will be left out of the decision making at the AGM/elections.
He called on the board of the TTSL to stop rushing to have an election that will constitute a breach of the FIFA Statutes and Constitution, saying once you violate a TTFA constitution, you automatically violate a FIFA law.
"The code for election does not give permission for virtual election, so why do they want to rush and do the wrong thing. The constitution has not even been amended to accept virtual voting," Rigues explained.
Attempts to reach Dean for a comment proved futile.