Will change come to the TTFA?

By Alvin Corneal

former national footballer

I wish it was easy to communicate with those who are aspiring for places in the hierarchy of the Trinidad and Tobago Football Association (TTFA). As far as I am aware, the current president is not yet prepared to say whether he will be facing the polls on November 24. I wonder why.

Is it because he is preparing a new plan which he hopes will help improve the quality of football in this country within a short time?

Already, he was comparing the recent failing results of the national team with the past teams over a long period which he claimed did not do well in the Concacaf.

I was happy to see his comments regarding the failure of both eras and was awaiting his reasons for the poor performances at present and in the recent past.

He claims that he will make a decision after he has completed the hotel. My question would have been to him: in what way will that achievement bring to the playing fields of Trinidad and Tobago the quality which we have come to recognise over the years?

With what we have witnessed over the past decade, in the standards of management and technical performances of the association, I was eagerly awaiting the promises which the goodly president would have made to the country.

I still pondered but could not understand how, with the deterioration of the game at all levels, that there was no interesting move to lead to better days.

Regardless of the personnel who are voted into office, certain things will have to be followed in order to bring some sanity to our football administration.

The first problem will be to honour the financial commitments to those who have been awaiting payment, none of which the TTFA has in the coffers.

Despite the enormous sums which have been handed to the country’s football by the FIFA, it is difficult to understand the direction in which the funds were spent.

For those who were not aware, each arm of the football association was receiving payments which were supposed to be spent on the allocated departments such as the office staff, the general secretary, the technical director, the women’s programme, Futsal, and the junior team preparations for international competitions.

How will these millions of dollars which the association owes, be paid to those who have been waiting a long time? Some have been without salaries and there are other debts.

Yet the request for government subventions are forever needed, mainly because the funding is sought for the clubs in the professional leagues.

This TTFA election will certainly provide either the gifts of money from fairy godfathers (sponsors), or a lease of the hotel which the current president sees as his greatest achievement.

If I had to make a suggestion, I would have requested a postponement of the elections and sought some legal luminaries to spend three months making adjustment to the constitution, which at this juncture is farcical.

If the structure of administration has not worked with the guidance of the failed group of previous administrators, it must be guided by rules and regulations which will bring discipline using the constitution. If not, watch out for a political football.