Joseph-Warrick – No consultation on women’s football
PRESIDENT of the TT Women’s League Football (TT WoLF) Susan Joseph-Warrick is upset that the WoLF is not contacted when important decisions involving women’s football are made in this country, pointing to the alleged hiring of Stephan DeFour recently to run the women’s teams.
Yesterday, other TT Football Association (TTFA) members Keith Look Loy and Rayshawn Mars joined Joseph-Warrick in outlining their issues with the David John-Williams led TTFA. The trio also represented other board members Joseph Taylor and Colin Partap.
Joseph-Warrick, reading a statement from WoLF, at a press conference yesterday, at the Normandie Hotel, in St Ann’s, said the women’s programme does not feel part of the process.
“T&T Women’s League for Football will like to express its disappointment with being constantly disregarded by the TTFA in matters related to the women’s national programme. We find it highly unprofessional on the TTFA’s part and damaging to the effective development of the women’s game in T&T.”
In a press release, on Tuesday, the TTFA said. DeFour has not been appointed as coach of the T&T Under-17, Under-20 and senior teams. It is also alleged that DeFour has already recruited people to work in his technical staff.
Joseph-Warrick finds it strange that a coach, who has not been appointed, is recruiting members of his staff. “We find it curious that a coach that has not been appointed is recruiting staff in the capacity of the national coach. I personally know Stephan. I don’t have a problem with him being appointed, I would like to say it is the manner in which it has happened, without our knowledge. It is our opinion that any decision regarding the appointment of the staff to the women’s team should be discussed with us TT WoLF.
We acknowledged that in the past TT WoLF was largely only concerned with the running of the local football league, (but) we wish to point out however that TT WoLF is responsible for women’s football in T&T in general.”
Joseph-Warrick is displeased that there is little hope that the men’s and women’s footballers will compete at the Olympic qualifiers later this year due to funding.
Joseph-Warrick said the T&T women’s footballers are disheartened that they will have to miss out on the 2020 Olympic qualifiers in October.
“They are not happy, I am not happy, WoLF is not happy because we train as young people to make national teams to then represent our countries.
For this to be taken away from us it does not (sit) well with them. We only have the (national) 17s and the 15s which are the groups of girls that are training, but we have 20s who have a tournament later this year and they are not in training right now, so they are not happy at all.”
Joseph-Warrick said she wants to continue working with the women’s footballers, but may have no choice but to resign if the TTFA continues to be run in this manner.
“I want to resign, but then my heart hurts for these young ladies because they need strong representation and I need to be there for them. If this continues I may not have a choice (but to leave).”