Tobago Football Association (TFA) president Everton Alfred is staying clear of the coming elections of the T&T Football Association to be held tentatively in April until football on the island is the way it is supposed to be.
His board of members, comprising himself, Desmond Alfred- 1st Vice President, Carel Percy- 2nd VP, and Ronald Duke, the 3rd VP will meet with several items on the agenda to be discussed, including the elections and a discussion on the recent amendments to the football association Constitution which were all accepted at the Extraordinary General Meeting (EGM) on January 28.
Alfred assured that he is one person on the island who is anything but interested in the election of a new executive for the T&TFA, however, he said he is more than willing to work with anyone who is elected.
“I am not interested in having any slate or being on any slate. I expect that the people seeking election will visit us and make their presentations. As far as I am concerned, I am willing to work with anybody once the interest of Tobago football is being taken care of,” Alfred explained.
“For me, I have to make sure that my house is clean first before I can go outside. On the island here, I know that we have to move Tobago football forward. At present, it is not where it ought to be,” Alfred said.
The longstanding Tobago football administrator is already tackling the regular issues of referee-bashing and ridicule in the game, by putting together a forum that will treat the issues between players and referees can be dealt with.
He described it as a critical issue in the sport that has to be dealt with. Another concern for him is the construction of a quality Tobago football team for both boys/men and women/girls that will help serve the interests of T&T football.
In addition, the Tobago FA will also focus on clubs being compliant, as well as the new Safeguarding policies. So far, the coming T&TFA elections, the final mandate given to the FIFA-appointed Normalisation Committee back in 2020, has generated huge interest with a few candidates making clear their intentions.
Already Keiron Edwards, the Eastern Football Association (EFA) president has confirmed his interest in being the new TTFA president, as well as businessman Dennis Latiff, the Southern Football Association boss, who told Guardian Media Sports that he is now in the process of putting together his slate.
Also expected to vie for the leadership of football in T&T is Selby Browne, the Veterans Football Foundation of T&T president, and Brian Jordan, the promoter and founder of the NLCL Community Youth Cup. Colin Wharfe, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the T&T Premier Football League is also rumoured to be a possible contender, but he told Guardian Media last week that he is consumed by the demands of the T&T PFL.
SOURCE: T&T Guardian