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“[…] In the interest of transparency, accountability, and maintaining the confidence of our membership, we wish to provide a comprehensive overview of the financial position inherited by the current administration and the realities we continue to manage…”
The Trinidad and Tobago Football Association (TTFA), led by president Kieron Edwards, has responded to concerns about financial mismanagement by the current executive with a statement on the economic climate in which the local football body operates.
(via TTFA Media.)
The TTFA receives an annual subvention of US$1,250,000 per year from Fifa. However, US$300,000 is deducted from that sum—and will continue to be withheld for another eight years—to service a loan from the global body, which allowed the TTFA to address creditors during normalisation.
TTFA general secretary Kareem Paul noted that the local football body also had to make a final payment of US$100,000 to Concacaf, to settle an earlier loan used to pay off Trinidad and Tobago’s 2006 World Cup team.
And there is also, he claimed, the matter of an unsettled TT$6,000,000 bill run up during the tenure of Robert Hadad-led Fifa Normalisation Committee, and another US$200,000 sum that has been set aside, pending legal wrangling with, for instance, former coach Terry Fenwick and marketing officer Peter Miller.
The following is the full statement from the TTFA general secretary:
It has been brought to the attention of the TTFA’s Executive Committee that certain opinions are being expressed suggesting that there has been mismanagement of funds by the officers of the Trinidad and Tobago Football Association (TTFA), particularly in light of the funding received from Fifa, Concacaf, and the Government, alongside the Association’s outstanding obligations.
In the interest of transparency, accountability, and maintaining the confidence of our membership, we wish to provide a comprehensive overview of the financial position inherited by the current administration and the realities we continue to manage.
Upon assuming office in April 2024, the Executive Committee was confronted with a severely constrained financial position. The January 2024 Fifa tranche had already been fully expended, and there were no remaining funds from the Government’s Sport Company grant for the Trinidad and Tobago Premier Football League (TTPFL) 2023–2024 season.
Additionally, the Association inherited debts amounting to approximately TT$6,000,000, owed to a wide range of stakeholders including service providers, staff, referees, national players, and airlines.
(via TTFA Media.)
These liabilities were accumulated over the four years preceding the entry of the present executive, and continued to regularly surface for several months following the transition.
It is important to distinguish these liabilities from historical debts predating 2020, which were addressed through a Fifa-supported settlement arrangement. Under this arrangement, the TTFA is required to repay an interest-free loan of US$3,000,000, with annual repayments of US$300,000 (following an initial US$200,000 payment in 2024).
These obligations remain a significant and ongoing financial burden on the Association.
While the TTFA continues to receive funding from Fifa and Concacaf, these inflows are substantially offset by existing repayment obligations.
(Courtesy Sean Morrison/ Wired868.)
For example, in January 2025, US$300,000 from the Fifa tranche was retained by Fifa to go towards the loan repayment, while an additional US$200,000 was retained to go toward legal expenses arising from contractual matters inherited from the previous administration.
The same US$300,000 was deducted for Fifa loan repayment in January 2026. Similarly, Concacaf funding is reduced annually by US$100,000 to service long-standing loan obligations related to the 2006 Fifa World Cup team.
The Association also relies on Government support, particularly for the operation of the TTPFL.
While such support has been pledged, disbursement is contingent on compliance requirements and the availability of funds. Delays in these disbursements have contributed to ongoing financial pressures, including outstanding payments such as referees’ fees for recent months.
Photo: Nicholas Bhajan/ Wired868.
Notwithstanding these challenges, the TTFA has ensured that all of our National Teams, across all age groups, have participated in their respective regional and international competitions.
Additionally, in relation to the settlement of our outstanding debts, we have engaged and continue to liaise with our major stakeholders, including Fifa, Concacaf, and the Government.
Based on these ongoing discussions and anticipated funding timelines, we are optimistic that all outstanding debts will be settled by 31 December 2026, with a concerted effort being made to substantially clear these obligations by 30 September 2026.
Photo: Nicholas Bhajan/ Wired868.
The current administration has taken deliberate steps to reduce outstanding debts and stabilize the financial position of the TTFA. Payments have been made progressively to creditors, and efforts continue to ensure that all obligations are addressed in a structured and responsible manner.
We also wish to emphasize the robust governance and audit framework currently in place.
Following the intervention by Fifa and the appointment of the Normalisation Committee, strict financial oversight mechanisms were instituted. The TTFA is subject to annual independent audits presented to Congress, as well as periodic audits conducted directly by Fifa.
(via TTFA Media.)
A Fifa team audited TTFA Accounts in May 2024, then in May 2025, and have just completed the 2026 Audit during this week. And, of course, there will be an Annual Independent Audit presented to the Annual Congress in November.
These reviews have consistently returned satisfactory results, with only minor recommendations for improvement.
Members can therefore be assured that the Association’s financial operations are conducted with transparency, accountability, and strict adherence to governance standards.
Any suggestion of financial impropriety would be thoroughly examined under these very rigorous audit protocols.
Photo: TTFA Media.
Colleagues, while the financial challenges we inherited have been significant, we are beginning to see tangible progress. There are encouraging signs that, with continued discipline and support, the Association will move toward a more stable financial footing in the near future.
We thank you for your continued support, understanding, and commitment to the development of football in Trinidad and Tobago.
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The TTFA responding to charges of irregularities and lack of accountability and transparency by telling us that.they are regularly audited does not help. The widespread perception of mismanagement—there are other stronger words used—will only disappear if and when INDEPENDENT monitors attest to the claims made by TTFA representatives.
Check Spoiler’s decades-old kaiso Magistrate Try Himself if you have doubts about what I am saying…
How do you explain payments made to radio station I95.5 regarding travel expenses including room & board for Andre Baptiste and Tony Lee? TTFA is the only football organization that pays for radio advertising. The norm is the media station pays the football organization for the privilege of coverage. The TTFA audits will bear this out! In fairness this goes back to Tim Kee.
Orson can you contact me urgently via email at mbi007@protonmail.com