SELBY BROWNE, a Trinidad and Tobago Football Association (TTFA) member, has described Minister of Sport and Community Development (MSCD) Shamfa Cudjoe’s comments about the TTFA proposal for a professional league as unfortunate and misinformed.
In a radio interview last week, Cudjoe said the Ministry would not engage in supporting a professional league venture without the backing of the Normalisation Committee (NC) and FIFA.
She also said that there were people among the TTFA membership bent on causing a disturbance, accused the TTFA among other national governing bodies of mismanagement.
Browne, also the president of the Veteran Footballers Foundation of Trinidad an Tobago (VFFOTT), believes the Minister is being ill-advised.
“I consider the pronouncements of the young Minister of Sport and Community Development, quite unfortunate indeed. Clearly the well-intentioned Minister is misinformed, and would be well advised to have new advisers appointed for sport in general or football in particular,” Browne told the Express.
Browne indicated that FIFA had appointed the NC as a caretaker body in order for the TTFA to complete four items. Its mandate was initially for two years before being extended by an additional year, until March, 2023. Last year at an Extraordinary General Meeting, 20 TTFA delegates voted in favour of fresh elections on March 18, the day after the term of the Normalisation Committee is to end.
The NC’s remit included running the day-to-day affairs of the TTFA; addressing the settlement of huge TTFA debts; making recommendations to the TTFA Constitution if required by the membership of the TTFA; and convening the election of officers of the TTFA for a four-year term.
“The TTFA membership is fully aware of its role, function and the authority vested in them, and quite clear of the mandate of the Normalisation Committee, contracted to perform work on its behalf,” said Browne. “The unfortunate reality is certain members of the Normalisation Committee and present and past members of the TTFA, for some unknown reason, have been of the view that the Normalisation Committee has been placed to administer football in T&T for eternity, and not a contractor appointed to complete a mandate within a specific period, for which due payment is made.”
Browne said also that the recommendations, guidelines and policies for the restructure of the TTFA to ensure no recurrence of mismanagement in the TTFA have not been presented to date.
He added that it is possible the NC may wish to ask FIFA for additional time to complete the work originally assigned for a two-year period.
Browne hoped that the Minister would strive to engage in productive discussions with the TTFA membership for the advancement of the sport to move beyond this NC transition period.
“As TTFA member, it would be pleasing to have serious discussions on creating jobs in sport throughout the communities, on the several sport and recreation fields and facilities throughout Trinidad and Tobago, several of which are state assets, some maintained by regional corporations and others by the former Caroni Limited and petroleum companies,” Browne stated. “This will certainly prove beneficial and welcomed by the citizens of the Republic and considered an excellent initiative of the Minister of Sport and Community Development.”
SOURCE: T&T Express
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