It’s back to the pre-Jack Warner days for T&T and Caribbean football, following the exclusion of ex-T&T midfielder and captain David Nakhid from the list of names for the Fifa presidency election in February. At least so says former national football coach Keith Look Loy yesterday.
“This is just how the politics go,” Look Loy said. Nakhid who has been campaigning throughout the Caribbean within the last few months saw his name not even included among seven other names when nomination closed last Monday. The reason was because he did not have the required five nominations after it was said that one of his supporters broke election rules and supported another candidate.
It meant the election committee decided not to consider Nakhid’s application as it did not meet the requirement of having five declarations of support. Fifa in a release stated: “David Nakhid’s candidacy has been invalidated due to the fact that he only received four valid football association nominations when candidates require five. It is understood that one national association nominated both Nakhid and another candidate.”
It stated also that: “Under the election rules such a situation would invalidate the nomination.”
Nakhid’s camp has since written to the Fifa to demand an explanation as to how and why he was debarred from running. When quizzed on this turn of events Look Loy said he did not expect that Nakhid would have been in such a situation as he thought the former T&T playmaker had already secured his five nominations. He explained further that Nakhid showed that he was unaware of the operations of the Fifa by this mishap.
Look Loy did not see Nakhid being left out of the election race as a concern for the Caribbean or Concacaf, but he said he is deeply worried about the position that the Caribbean region particularly, has found itself in with absolutely no representation on world football issues and decisions. “The Caribbean would just be some islands in the sea now with no concern about them,” Look Loys said.
In the past under then Concacaf president and Fifa vice president Jack Warner the region secured additional World Cup spots which saw both Jamaica and T&T qualify for the France 1998 and Germany 2006 World Cups, respectively. Concacaf, as far as Look Loy is concerned does not need the Caribbean to stand firm in world football.
“Concacaf does not need us but I think the region definitely needs Concacaf, to make it in world football.” Asked about whether the progress made by regional associations T&T and Jamaica can help us stand firm in world football, Look Loy said no.
“Realistically, progress in football is determined by the ability to consistently qualify for World Cups and both T&T and Jamaica have done so just twice. But there is no doubt in the minds of the world, that the USA, Mexico and Costa Rica are accepted from the Concacaf region,” Look Loy said.
Meanwhile another football administrator William Wallace said Nakhid’s exclusion from the list of names to contest the Fifa election is unfortunate.
“I was happy that Nakhid was in the race because to me it would have been a statement on behalf of the region to the world,” Wallace said.