Whether or not it is human error, negligence or simply forgetfulness, something is wrong with the way women are treated.
But in this case I am referring to Women in Sports, not in other spheres of life, and in particular for the purpose of those who wish to read further, women in football in T&T.
The fact, that since December 2, 2014, our national women’s team has not played a single match to this day, is not only unforgivable, but a possible sign of disengagement by those in authority, who if not for this team would have been as unpopular as their predecessors. Because let me explain for the infinite time to all Sports Administrators in all spheres of this country, that people are interested in the sportsmen and sportswomen and not in them. If they remain silent and do their work efficiently, they will have achieved and one day be recognised.
In the case of the women, the T&T Football Association stated that since the young ladies lost that game in December to Ecuador 0-1, there are no countries interested in playing our national team anymore.
However, the women footballers are flatly denying that is true and instead believe that not enough effort was made by the TTFA to ensure that this could have occurred. It is difficult to believe that after such a successful run, that no team would be interested in playing this country ahead of the World Cup in Canada.
And if the TTFA were smart and given the apparent business success of the game in December, they would have found a way through connections to play a game in front of a still adoring crowd when the momentum was there for all to witness, instead to most, it appears as if they have turned their backs once again on women’s football.
We all know the problems the team experienced in 2014 and when you listen to the captain Maylee Attin-Johnson talk from the heart again about the fact, that officials basically at one time told her, that the emphasis has to be on men’s football, because that is the flag bearer, you can imagine the passion and drive in our women when they heard this male dominated TTFA state these words.
However the situation at the moment that again has the TTFA and women’s football at loggerheads involves the Pan American Championships in Canada, where a men’s team was named some 10 days ago and names rightfully submitted to the T&T Olympic Committee. However no team was announced or published or released to the media on a women’s team for the same event with the same deadlines.
On i95.5fm, I sports on Thursday, we spoke with Maylee Attin-Johnson, who says she knows that a team is going, but no team has been announced to her or any of the players and it was just in line with that knowledge that Attin Johnson and Akhela Mollon decided to call some players to practices.
There is not even a coach as yet for the women’s team for these Championships, with apparently the TTFA in negotiations with Randy Waldrum. There is just too much uncertainly, and this breathes doubt and despair and can lead to more questions.
Why is there so much secrecy over the naming of a team, over the situation with a coach, it is this apparent unwillingness to be open and transparent that has affected the Football Association in the past and unless they fix this problem, quickly, they are heading down the same road.
As a follow up to all of this on Saturday on Isports, the President of the TTOC, Brian Lewis confirmed, that a team of ladies for the Pan American Championships had been received from the TTFA. So then, one is forced to question, why the need for all of this secrecy and this non-disclosure by the TTFA. Is it that Shaun Fuentes forgot to issue this information? Or was he told not to do so?