General secretary of Central Football Association (CFA) Lennox Sirjuesingh is vehemently against the sale of the Home of Football in Balmain, Couva and described it as short-sightedness.
Robert Hadad, chairman of the FIFA-appointed Normalisation Committee, has said on several occasions that the sale of the Home of Football is an option to clear a debt, which has crippled T&T football for the past years.
The debt now stands at $98.5 million, according to Sirjuesingh in a release: "The suggestion and availability for sale of the HOF as a means of liquidating the TTFA reported $ 98.5 million debt is certainly short-sighted and of serious concern to me. Efforts must be made to save the HOF for its original purpose.
"It is to be seen as an achievement and legacy, something of possibly first, certainly for a small country. "
The veteran administrator knows the sport of football and its administration very well, having served in football since 1964 as an administrator. Later in 1967, Sirjuesingh became a T&T referee and from 1973-1978 served as the secretary of the Football Referees Association.
Sirjuesingh later became a FIFA referee in 1977 before serving as assistant secretary of the T&T Football Association under then general secretary Richard Groden. Having held the position of secretary of the CFA from 2005- 2010, Sirjuesingh is now back at the CFA as general secretary.
He believes consultation can be the solution to liquidating the TTFA debt.
"The purported sale, if it were to become reality, will satisfy an immediate need no doubt. Looking down the road and the well-established viability of real estate, one is led to think serious thinking is needed here.
"An evaluation of the prospective price of that property in a few years, I am certain, will see selling it off today as having been bad business which we will live to regret when in a few years the area shall be converted to its potential via its strategic position."
He noted further: "The quite obvious question is - What does the TTFA do in the short or immediate term?" Brainstorming is likely to produce a solution. I do have a suggestion and I'm willing to discuss it with the relevant authorities. Likewise, others will come up with ideas that are attainable and advisable.
"For now, please T&T let us see HOF as an achievement to be appreciated, preserved, monitored, improved and become a legacy."
SOURCE: T&T Guardian