WAYNE CUNNINGHAM will serve as president of the Eastern Football Association (EFA) following an Extraordinary General Meeting on Saturday morning at the Sepp Blatter Hall, Dr Joao Havelange Centre of Excellence, Macoya, Tunapuna.
Cunningham, who was known as a sports commentator, a match commentator (at Pro League knockout matches as well as international matches featuring the “Soca Warriors”) and a match commissioner, replaces the long-serving Lennox Watson who was elevated to the post of acting president of the Trinidad and Tobago Football Federation (TTFF).
Cunningham was part of the Watson slate who prevailed in a contentious EFA elections, over Keith Look Loy’s team, on August 28.
At the time, Watson was re-elected president, with Cunningham and Carl Joseph as his deputies, while Neil Mollineau and Joseph Romeo were named as assistant secretaries.
The EFA’s Extraordinary General Meeting was called after six clubs Barataria Ball Players, Creek SCC, FC Santa Rosa, Pinto United FC, St John’s United and La Horquetta Sporting Academy issued a special requisition (petition) to discuss and vote on a resolution “given the political impasse in the EFA and the dissatisfaction of the (six) clubs.”
The six clubs also called for fresh elections on December 4, “two weeks after the adoption of this resolution, consistent with Article 10:4 of the EFA constitution, which requires nominations to be submitted to the EFA secretariat (Neville Ferguson) at least 14 days before the date of an election.”
But, on Saturday, the Watson-Cunningham group won by 10 votes to six to dismiss the resolution, and rejecting the call for fresh elections of the EFA executive.
Barataria Ball Players, FC Santa Rosa, Pinto United, St John’s United, La Horquetta Sporting Academy and Prisons Sports Club voted in favour of elections, while Creek SCC abstained.
Three clubs - Upper Santa Cruz, Malabar FC and Tunapuna Titans, were originally expected to support the call for fresh elections but, for undisclosed reasons, decided to join Boss FC, Carib FC, Joe Public FC, La Horquetta XF, Maloney FC, Valtrin FC and WASA FC in rejecting the motion.