If you want to see a return to the ‘Glory Days’ of T&T football vote for Selby Browne.
In his plan, Browne revealed that once he is elected president when the T&T Football Association (T&TFA) Annual General Meting (AGM) and Election of Officers on Sunday, he would implement polices that would move the sport forward. He said: “It cannot be business as usual. I will bring my vision to refocus, restructure and re-engineer football in T&T for the next generation.”
These policies include; No major chance to the constitution or rules of the association will be made solely by the president or the Board of Management without appropriate and meaningful consultation; Strict adherence to the TTFA’s constitution, rules and operating procedures.
He added that this also includes the holding of general meetings, AGM, elections, production of timely audited financial accounts, presentation of annual reports and ensuring that member associations, leagues and clubs adhere to the constitution. Browne wants to see the strengthening of associations and clubs and ensuring that leagues, tournaments and competitions are properly organised and managed.
He will also place emphasis on the Secondary schools which he believes must play with the adult clubs in their regional associations to displace the gap between secondary schools football and adult national competitions and thereby providing opportunities for schools footballers to be fixtures on national teams on a 30 per cent basis.
Among Browne’s policies are: A technical director being introduced and assigned to each regional association with a responsibility for developing and managing training programmes for kiddies, youths and adult footballers and making recommendations to national teams. He sighted the need for the appointment of a technical director to the T&T Pro League with specific responsibilities to establishing a team that would provide analysis of matches, assessment of the performances of players with respect to their strength, employment of skills and training etc which would help clubs with their product development.
He promises to conduct a critical review of the league structure for football in T&T to determine the merits of integration, promotion and relegation in a tiered system; Conducting a financial audit and introduction of an internal auditor and chief financial officer as well as the establishment of a proper financial management system.
He will be calling on the regional associations, leagues and clubs and implementing strict policies to prevent the TTFA president or any member of the board of management from using the association resources for their personal use.
A man who is well respected in football through-out the region, Concacaf, Europe, Asia and Africa for his stance against corruption in the sport, Browne explained that his new administration and structure will be refocus to ensure proper technical development from the primary school level within the communities to professionalism in the regional associations, the Caribbean and around the world at large.
He made it clear his campaign is about the product of football; the major asset of the TTFA, the footballers; about football for the next generation; about providing better conditions for footballers; about ensuring that national footballers are not distracted by off the field administrative blunders; about ensuring accountability and transparency throughout the association, the league and the club levels as well as embracing the development of the sport at the primary schools and community levels and ensure the best is on the field.
He reminded all of the glory days in which T&T defeated Mexico 4-0 in the 1974 World Cup Qualifiers in Haiti and then followed up that performance by scoring five goals against Haiti in Port au Prince but had four disallowed by the officials. T&T eventually lost the game 1-2 while referee Jose Enrique of El Salvador and linesman James Higuet of Canada were banned for life by the world governing body for football- FIFA.
In reminiscing about the glory days of the sport, Browne pointed out that Haiti moved to the number one spot in the Concacaf region when it should have been T&T and later explained that five T&T players Kelvin Barclay, Selris Figaro, Everald ‘Gally’ Cummings, Warren Archibald and lethal striker Steve David were named on a CONCACAF All Star team afterwards.
He is calling on all clubs, leagues and associations to support him, noting that because of his background as being a strong individual with a passion and knowledge of all aspects of football in T&T, the Caribbean, the Concacaf and globally, that he is well able to discern what is required to take T&T to its former glory as well as provide a vision to strengthen the administration, the associations, the leagues, clubs and improve T&T’s ranking in the Concacaf.
He also wants a chance to seek financial security for the embattled association and the sport which he explained will come from an improved product. He added the sport must attract meaningful sponsors and investors and cannot be dependent on financing from government, CONCACAF and FIFA.
Browne feels that the return of T&T football to a highly rated, attractive and entertaining product with footballers marketable based on their mature sociable appeal, against the background of well managed matches, leagues, tournaments and events would facilitate a meaningful return to television rights values that would augment the financial attractiveness of the TTFA.
NAME: Selby Browne
ASSOCIATION: Veteran Football Federation
PROFESSION: Businessman