“[…] The reality is most of our current footballers do not have a real future, as the standard of our football has dropped to an all time low.
“[…] Why are we overly concerned about a Fifa ban when there is much groundwork to be done to address the more pressing need of the viability and sustainability of professional football in T&T?”
The following Letter to the Editor on the impasse between the Trinidad and Tobago Football Association and Fifa was submitted to Wired868 by Louis Carrington:
It is clearly evident that there is more in the mortar than on the pestle. There are questions that need to be answered urgently if right-thinking persons are to respect the Fifa normalisation committee.
Firstly, one must ask who is Robert Hadad and how did he become the person Fifa would have selected to head the normalisation committee. The answer to this question would definitely help in connecting the dots in the otherwise uncertain map.
This is especially so given that Fifa’s original choice was the former finance manager under the previous administration, who might I add was already at the time subject to an investigation by the William Wallace administration as part of the dealing of the David John-Williams administration.
Secondly, Hadad in his capacity as normalisation head has suspended the general secretary of the TTFA for, as he stated, contracts entered into by the TTFA. Ironically though, the general secretary was the only administrator from the Wallace administration standing and possibly too much involved in the affairs of the TTFA.
It therefore begs the question; and Hadad should seek to clear the air as a matter of urgency, as it is not sufficient to blanket the issue by saying ‘contracts entered into by the TTFA’. There is need for specific references so as to clarify the nature and date of these said contracts.
Clearly, whatever is the agenda of Fifa, it is of such great importance that they are prepared to do whatever it takes to secure their position—even if in the eyes of the rational man, the dots do not connect and their approach is high-handed and draconian.
Is it that FIFA is complicit in its handling of matters of concern that it cannot afford to be aired publicly, hence the urgent need to ensure the following:
1. The removal of the duly elected executive by whatever means necessary.
2. That no one connected in anyway to the Wallace administration is in a position to report on the inner working of any cover up that may be in the making.
3. That Fifa is not subject public scrutiny in an open court.
4. That their anointed son continue to be in charge of football in T&T albeit in a clandestine manner.
To achieve these objectives, cloud the real issues with the threat of a ban of TTFA, which would have the effect of the sympathetic support from those who either have their own personal agenda or cannot be bothered to analyse the situation to ascertain what are the real issues.
To digress and address another issue that should in my view be a lot more important than Fifa’s proposed sanction: the Trinidad and Tobago Pro League, after many years, is still unable to market and sustain itself.
Many clubs have come and gone in the years, while others have barely survived. Survival being attributed to two main factors, which are the government subvention to clubs and/or clubs being in a negative position to its employees and creditors.
I raise this as an issue because I see it as having greater significance than asking the question of what will happen to aspiring footballers if a ban is imposed on TTFA. The reality is most of our current footballers do not have a real future, as the standard of our football has dropped to an all-time low.
As a people we have very short memories. In order for T&T to record a victory we were forced to engage Anguilla, the lowest ranked Fifa nation in 2019.
Currently, we do not produce footballers consistently capable of staking a claim on the international market. Our players who ply their trade overseas now do so in lands far afield with little or no historical tradition of being top football nations, or in the MLS and USA lower divisions.
Many see the MLS as below par and it is often termed as the ‘retirement league’. It therefore begs the question: why are we overly concerned about a Fifa ban when there is much groundwork to be done to address the more pressing need of the viability and sustainability of professional football in T&T?
If government was to remove its subvention to Pro League teams—and that could be a likely possibility in these times and in the future—how many of those teams would survive?
My people, wake up remove the proverbial yampee from your eyes and face the scene and unseen dragons head on.
Change only comes with commitment and sacrifice. To allow Fifa to continue to bully member associations and get unbridled support from those who see no further than their noses is to continue to toe the line.
Let’s demand answers. The beginning of lunacy is to do the same thing repeatedly and expect a different result.