After a dreadful year, filled with lawsuits and bacchanal the TT Football Association (TTFA) is buoyed by a promising future and is looking forward to a brighter 2021.
Robert Hadad, chairman of the FIFA-appointed normalisation committee, said in a media statement on Thursday, said, “We are so thankful to end 2020 and to enter into 2021 with the TTFA as a functioning member of FIFA and Concacaf. The support, interaction and experience shared from those in FIFA and Concacaf have been important in guiding us to this point and to where we are aiming towards in 2021 and beyond.”
“This year has been a terribly testing and difficult one for everyone in some way or another,” Hadad wrote. “I wish to note that football does not exist in isolation and is also affected by the challenges of society. The existing problems in local football coupled with the (coronavirus) pandemic, have made this year into certainly one of the FA’s most challenging periods in its history.
“The socio-economic challenges also affect the end product, but rest assured that we are undertaking a number of interventions in order to develop our organisation and to elevate our game to a higher standard.
“Our tasks of addressing the current debt, running the daily affairs of the TTFA, reviewing and amending the Statutes, and generally charting a better way forward for TT football, remain top priority.”
He said TTFA is “focused on a strategic planning process as it is imperative that our plan is locked in place and becomes a blueprint for long-term growth and stability. Additionally, we are currently in a process of forging stronger relationships with our existing partners and stakeholders and do have plans to ensure they are part of our future success.”
“We have encountered a trying and difficult year and we are looking forward to a brighter 2021. What we put into our football now, determines the end result.
“We are buoyed by a promising future and as I have said in the past, we have been presented with an opportunity to make a change. We must all embrace this and remain positive and committed to building back our country’s football. We must do this for the players, youth, fans, coaches and for all stakeholders.”
The committee, comprising Hadad, Judy Daniel and Nigel Romano, was appointed in March, after FIFA removed the William Wallace-led executive, due to mounting debts.
FIFA suspended TT from all international events on September 24, after Wallace and his executive failed to withdraw their legal case against FIFA from the local High Court and have it heard at the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) in Switzerland.
FIFA lifted the suspension in November, after members of the TTFA agreed to stop court action taken against FIFA and recognise the committee to run its affairs.
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