“The sad reality today is the TTFA is in shambles, with a lack of proper vision, poor administration, poor management, no accountability or transparency, generating enormous debt and without the major focus of development of a proper football product on the field of play by our national teams.”
The following Letter to the Editor on the state of Trinidad and Tobago football was submitted to Wired868 by Veteran Footballers Federation of Trinidad and Tobago (VFFOTT) president Selby Browne:
As the FIFA World Cup 2018 approaches its start on 14 June in Moscow, the situation of the Trinidad and Tobago Football Association (TTFA) is sad for me.
I have long advocated that our vision must be to return Trinidad and Tobago football to No 1 position in the Concacaf on the field, which would be achieved with proper management, structure, technical development, accountability [and] international funding—to produce the quality, world-class football we once demonstrated back in the early 1970s and of which we are fully capable.
The fact is the TTFA will be in Moscow to participate solely at the FIFA Congress on June 13th and not to participate on the field of play in the prestigious FIFA World Cup football competition.
The sad reality today is the TTFA is in shambles, with a lack of proper vision, poor administration, poor management, no accountability or transparency, generating enormous debt and without the major focus of development of a proper football product on the field of play by our national teams.
The Veteran Footballers Federation of Trinidad and Tobago laments the squashed opportunity of qualifying for the FIFA WC 2018, based on poor administrative decisions with respect to coaching appointments and technical staff for the men’s national teams—further manifested by the abandonment of a world-class women’s coach and technical staff, capable of taking the national team to the Women’s World Cup.
The fact is while the FIFA Congress is taking place in Moscow on 13th June, the business of the Trinidad and Tobago Football Association (TTFA) will be determined by its membership with judgement on the failure of the TTFA to provide “pellucidly clear answers with evidence” to the myriad of questions presented for answers since 5 July 2017.
The membership judgement on the poor administration, poor management, no accountability or transparency, generating enormous debt, and outright incompetent lawlessness of the TTFA will be eventually decided on the eve of the start of the FIFA World Cup, which will hopefully provide the removal of the discarded era of the Football Administration “Onemanism” and herald the adherence to the dictates of the new TTFA Constitution, eventually passed in July 2015—long championed by the Veteran Footballers Foundation of Trinidad and Tobago (VFFOTT).
I look forward with optimism to the start of a New Day for the vision, structure and administration of football in Trinidad and Tobago.