Central Football Association (CFA) president Shymdeo Gosine has resigned, leaving the association's first vice president Wendell Collymore to assume the role of interim president.
His resignation comes after a long battle with his membership over his management of the embattled association. Following his resignation recently, Gosine told Guardian Media Sports that he also submitted a comprehensive report to the FIFA-appointed Normalisation Committee, being led by businessman Robert Hadad explaining in full the reasons for his resignation.
He is now awaiting a response from the normalisation committee to see if the situation will be dealt with.
In the meantime, Gosine who took over the leadership of the CFA from long-serving member Bryan Layne on November 26, 2015, and was re-elected for another term in 2019, has made it clear 'he is done with that.'
Gosine's first foray in the position of leader of central football generated huge excitement with a prize structure that exceeded that of all other regional associations. He also charted a course for youth development in the zone for the first time and spearheaded the upgrade of an online website for the association.
However, members still grew disenchanted, particularly with the way the association's finances were being managed.
Three weeks ago, the Board of the CFA called a meeting to move a motion of no-confidence in Gosine which eventually led to his resignation. It was one of several meetings held by the board.
But according to Gosine on Monday: "All those meetings were illegal meetings. They have never really had a proper meeting but it reached a point that I said listen, I don't need this. When I got involved in this it was to help football to get along, to help central football and for no other reason, because I love football.
"As you very well know, I had a professional team so my goal was to see how I can help football in central and when this thing started happening, since the T&T Football Association election, I decided that this has become too much of a headache for me and I have my business to run. I don't have time for this.
"This every day hounding me down and sending me emails and asking for AGMs, and when I hold one, they want another one, I said enough is enough, and I did a comprehensive report and sent it to the normalisation committee, telling them the reason I have removed myself as the president of central football.
"I removed myself as president of central football and that's the end of that. There's no in-between anymore, 'I done with that.' Not even if they ask me to go back there, I will not go back."
Guardian Media Sports was told that Gosine was also suspended by the board two weeks ago after he refused to give an account on the financial affairs of the association.
Gosine believes his investment in the association, coupled with his desire to take football to another level in T&T was not reciprocated by his members, saying: " In 2019 they got together and said they were going to raise the funds to pay the prize money, but to this date, they have not raised a penny.
"It has been going on for a little bit. All the time, I was picking up the expenses. I mean, there are some funds that I loaned them and I took back, but the truth is that $700,000 to $800,000 of my money was spent in there to keep football and keep it going, but those guys are not interested in football."
Meanwhile, Collymore's tenure will last until the Board of the CFA schedules a general meeting and at that time, they will have the election of a new president. Collymore himself can be returned as president at the general meeting if he is voted in.
SOURCE: T&T Guardian