OFFICIALS at the Eastern Football Association (EFA) club 1st FC Santa Rosa have been denied the right to register additional players for the remainder of the 2010 season.
According to a media release issued by Santa Rosa’s Public Relations Officer (PRO) Norris Ferguson, “the club attempted to register Jevaughn Vance on October 11 only to be advised by EFA secretary, Nevillle Ferguson, that the ‘registration date has expired’.”
Vance, a teenaged midfielder, was the 2009 Secondary Schools Football League (SSFL) Most Valuable Player.
Santa Rosa launched an appeal to the Trinidad and Tobago Football Federation (TTFF) on three grounds.
Firstly, “FIFA regulations on the Status and Transfer of Players forbid the imposition of registration deadlines in amateur football.”
The second ground of appeal was “in any event, EFA clubs, including 1st FC Santa Rosa, were never advised regarding the date of a registration deadline prior to the beginning of the 2010 season.” In addition, “the club wrote to the EFA on August 27 regarding the existence of a transfer deadline, which request the FA never responded to.”
Norris Ferguson claims that, “despite the ongoing impasse, the EFA has to date not provided Santa Rosa with a document defining a registration deadline.”
Furthermore, the TTFF, on Tuesday, ruled in favour of one of its parent bodies EFA to which Norris Ferguson states, “the denial of new registrations has forced the club to play key matches without the desired reinforcements, including its 2-1 League Cup win on October 16 against St John’s United FC of the EFA Premier League.”
Among the players affected by the ruling were two Brazilians who were on trial stints at the club.
“The club will decide if it wishes to pursue the matter outside of the TTFF,” concluded the Santa Rosa PRO.