DAVID MUHAMMAD, the Trinidad and Tobago football team manager, has slammed his employees, the TT Football Association (TTFA), for the amount of monies contributed to stricken ex-national footballer Akeem Adams, on behalf of the Heart of a Warrior Fund.
The 22-year-old Adams is currently fighting for his life at the Intensive Care Unit of the Vasmajori Heart Clinic in Budapest, Hungary, after suffering a massive heart attack on September 25, while he subsequently had his left leg amputated on October 7 due to necrosis.
The TTFA, in a media release on Thursday, noted that it contributed $72,300 towards the fund “from income generated at the (October 15) friendly international match between Trinidad and Tobago and New Zealand at the Hasely Crawford Stadium, Mucurapo.”
The media release continued, “sales from the ‘I Support Akeem’ shirts, produced by Native Spirit, generated a total of $50,000”.
But, on a radio talk show on I95.5 FM on Thursday evening, TTFA media officer Shaun Fuentes reportedly revealed that only a quarter of the sum raised from the t-shirt sales went to the Fund.
If calculations are made, with $50,000 being quarter of the sum raised, then a total of $200,000 arose from the sale of t-shirts (which was priced at $100 each).
However the TTFA, in another media release, on October 6 (under the headline “Heart of a Warrior t-shirts go on sale”), it was disclosed that “the t-shirts will be sold at a cost of $100 with all proceeds going towards the Heart of a Warrior Fund.”
Muhammad, on his Facebook page, has condemned the lack of transparency, particularly by the local governing body.
“It is a shame that so much public love, concern, support and best wishes poured out from the public in the form of the sales of maybe (thousands) of t-shirts at $100 each and all that could have been given to the family was under $73,000,” he wrote. “It is also disrespectful to the Adams family for so much money to be raised in their son’s name and for greed to take priority over sincere generosity.
“I don’t think this would have been done to a more high profile player,” he expressed.
Muhammad, who is also a talk show host, added, “if I had known that only $25 per jersey was going to Akeem I would have never bought as many t-shirts as I did and I would have done what I will do now, and that is to make a deposit at any RBC bank in the account of Ancilla Dick- account number #1000-851-7265-8914.”
He ended his post by stating, “please continue to support Akeem Adams!!!