HOW much money is enough for the World Cup qualifying campaign?
At what point would TTFF -- Jack Warner, whoever -- say “thanks, folks, this would carry us through”?
Don’t laugh! It’s an indictment against us that we don’t expect honesty at any level of society.
And it is plain hypocrisy when we call no one to account unless and until he becomes part of a government.
We cry out like would-be beacons of equality and justice as if we didn’t see him/her stealing his/her way to the top all along; or paying his employees below minimum wage; or using his position to commit sexual harassment; or performing some other immorality!
Or, worst of all, jacking up the price of goods and services to make sure poor people do not benefit from budgetary measures that were intended to make those goods and services cheaper.
Measures -- mind you -- that include government subsidy to these same businesses to make those goods and services cheaper.
That is but a sampling of the deviance among common folk in our society.
But it serves our purpose not to weed it out where it happens but to point it out only when its total sum can embarrass a government we don’t support; or, when such a person reaches the highest office in a government we don’t support.
So, don’t laugh.
It’s sordid when we find it funny to suggest TTFF would say, “okay, Jack’s ‘donation’ of $17 million would do”;
Or “Jack’s ‘investment’ of $17 million is quite sufficient;”
Or “KFC sponsorship of $1 million a year covers it;”
Or “TSTT’s sponsorship of $3 million will get us there;”
Or “Finta’s $1 million (or whatever the true figure is) donation of equipment is taking a chunk out of our expenses;”
Or “so, too, the support of Blue Waters and Busta (figures unknown)”.
Or “government’s subsidy of $18-plus million towards football development is more than we can ask;”
Or “government’s $1.3 million to the World Cup qualifying campaign is a huge bonus, considering all the assistance so far;”
Or “government’s $7.5 million towards the Professional Football League is really asking too much, given their previous donations and the number of other sports that need development and funding too;”
Or “government’s generous handout of another $13.5 million towards World Cup qualifying, with a mere two matches remaining is far too much now;”
Or “wow! Thanks, NLCB; $5 million over five years starting now … no more, please;”
Or “that (never mentioned) FIFA/CONCACAF grant for reaching the (now-concluded) CONCACAF final round is worth (an undisclosed sum).
“That (back then) should take us though the end of this campaign;”
Or “the sum at hand now is this amount (hopefully not already spent).
“From our experience, it would take ‘Y’ amount (hopefully still at hand) to finish these two matches.
“Therefore, we would have a surplus of ‘X’.”
It is also not funny to find it okay not to hear Warner and, by extension, TTFF say: “That surplus would go into a development fund for the next campaign; while (if we qualify) our preparation for the finals would be covered by FIFA’s grant;”
Or “because we have qualified, FIFA guarantees us a ridiculously astronomical grant of ‘X’ (far more than the once-mentioned US$1 million every member country on the planet gets from revenue from the finals); therefore, that shall see us through the next year leading up to the finals.”
Nope! We don’t expect them, as the TTFF, to be any more above board in financial matters than they were as the TTFA.
But, again, we accept that.
We are not calling on TTFF to account for monies received so far or to explain the tone of urgency in their pleads for sponsorship, via their advisor’s attempts to embarrass corporate bodies to chip in.
Many may support his views that: “many companies are reaping millions of profit in TnT” and are not “willing to give back to society”.
Why, this column has in the past highlighted the fact that while a maximum 30 per cent of your salary goes to taxes, the other 70 per cent goes to the businessman in one form or the next.
On the one hand, governments are called upon to provide everything; yet the businesses on the other hand, that don’t mind that but that, ironically, complain that governments are creating a dependency syndrome, give little or nothing.
And, to us they are not expected to give more than little or nothing. We don’t mind that they ship most of it out, lock themselves into gated communities and call for more policing and bigger jails instead of a Tarouba sporting complex.
But even while some of this -- or statements by Warner like “such companies have no right to complain about the rising level of crime and social unrest” (which is true) -- is repeatedly being used to humiliate them into funding the national team, one must still ask: “How much is too much money for the world Cup campaign?”
Okay, let’s make it easier: “How much is enough?”
I ask this because I vividly remember the same open benevolence of the 1989 campaign.
I don’t feel sorry for the businesses that finally came forward to give from $10,000 and up to 10,000 or more sweeties for example. Some did so genuinely; some felt they had no choice, given the wave of euphoria and nationalism they were up against, and many hopped on primarily to capitalise on imminent qualification.
By the time the campaigned failed they were to realise that the donations had fallen into an abyss.
Each person who believed his contribution went straight to the “Strike Squad” was mortified to discover how much poorer the players were after that campaign.
“Strike Squad” players had even each been guaranteed a house and land once they qualified.
But guess what?
They didn’t qualify and that blurred the reason why they didn’t get anything else. The truth be told again: it all fell into a bottomless pit.
Since then, the business community has largely not trusted football administration. Until now!
I see history repeating itself under this latest manifestation of the TTFA, called the TTFF (and hiding behind the banner of the Germany 2006 Local Organising Committee in the same way TTFA sought to hide behind the football company, FcoTT in 1992.
FCoTT had been launched as a “new beginning” in local football, meaning, its public face, by the high profile of its Board personnel and the pledge by many of the country’s CEOs towards the target of $17 million, football was going into a new direction. But, unknown to the public, “new beginning” was also a way of getting away from old debts -- debts to the likes of Holiday Inn, Chacacabana, Frank Sealy and others.
They even tried to obtain a President’s license to enable tax write-offs to business donors.
But an objection was raised with President Noor Hassanali that the company, to which all of TTFA’s assets were being moved, was a way to commit the fraud on creditors, with Presidential support).
Incidentally, a similar effect could have been achieved in more recent times with the changeover from TTFA to TTFF: New slate, no debts.
Well … except, perhaps, to the ever-munificent Warner.
And don’t ask if Parliament was consulted on the changeover, which is proper procedure for a body incorporated by Parliament.
In conclusion, I must say this: if you feel obligated to give something, give intelligently and not through some emotion (some people have been employed to stir up certain emotions in you). Watch how the money is being spent.
Then, ask how it is to be spent.
And even when you are given an impressive dossier of facts and figures (people are employed to prepare those as well) study them carefully.
Then ask more questions.
Yeah, they’ll call you unpatriotic and say you’re trying to stymie the qualifying campaign and upset the team, but if you really love your country or the sport, ask questions.
Especially when you’re shown figures that seem to lump the various expenses for players in one entry and itemise them in other entries on that same profit and loss statement.
Ask for clarification.
Ask which company or companies is (or are) benefiting from the goods and services outlined on that balance statement.
While at it, ask why we seem to pay for teams visiting here and still foot our entire bill when we travel.
Ask why we seem to share the spoils with teams that play us here but (at least it is never mentioned) we get nothing from playing abroad.
Ask.
You just ask.
And when you get all the satisfactory answers (don’t give up until you do) ask why so many good youngsters are walking away from football because one man is doing what he likes “in the interest of football in TnT”.