Sancho selected for Fifa club management diploma; controversial Pro League chairman on the rise

Former Trinidad and Tobago World Cup 2006 defender Brent Sancho looks set to continue his rise in the field of sport administration, as he was among 24 selectees from over 400 applicants for the inaugural Fifa Diploma in Club Management.

The first edition of the programme will run from March 2021 to January 2022 with a combination on online and on-site modules—subject to developments in the Covid-19 pandemic. The course directors are Ornella Desirée Bellia, Fifa head of professional football, and Maheta Molango, ex-CEO of Real Mallorca. 

Photo: Pro League acting chairman and Central FC managing director Brent Sancho.
(via TTFA Media)

The diploma, according to Fifa, aims to ‘provide club executives from all around the world with the latest practical know-how and insights from the industry, covering key areas in the successful management of football clubs’.

The course promises participants ‘a 360-degree view of club management’ while its subject areas include ‘the latest trends in relation to club operations and stadium management, finance, marketing and communications, sporting and youth academies, governance and legal matters, as well as leadership and negotiation’.


Sancho is the acting Pro League chairman and, according to a TTFA release, ‘the owner of local Pro League club Central FC’.

Ironically, Sancho’s relationship with Central FC is a matter of legal probing at present by creditors of the ‘Couva Sharks’. He has intermittently denied affiliation with the club, although he acted on behalf of Central as recently as October 2020, when he nominated a representative for the Pro League outfit to vote for Fifa normalisation.

Photo: Then Central FC midfielder Leston Paul (centre) is congratulated by teammates after his successful penalty against Club Sando during the Pro Bowl semifinals at the Ato Boldon Stadium on 12 February 2017.
Central won 5-4 via kicks from the penalty mark.
(Courtesy Sean Morrison/Wired868)

The Trinidad and Tobago Football Association (TTFA), now under the control of Fifa-appointed normalisation committee headed by chairman Robert Hadad, is believed to have recommended Sancho for the Fifa diploma.

“I am extremely honoured to be selected for this programme,” said Sancho, who is also a former minister of sport under the UNC-led People’s Partnership government. “It is an exciting opportunity to broaden [my] overall knowledge and understanding of what is required for professional club football management, which is something that can only augur well for our domestic football in Trinidad and Tobago. 

“It is my intention to ensure that our football benefits from such a programme and my involvement as a member.”

Despite Sancho’s legal issues—he is believed to have lost a case for unpaid wages to current Soca Warriors head coach Terry Fenwick last year—he has been on the ascendancy within regional football politics.

Last May, Concacaf named the former Scotland Premier League defender as a member of a Caribbean Professional League Working Group, which is a subgroup of the Concacaf Competitions Committee and is mandated to execute a ‘comprehensive study of Caribbean professional club football’. 

More from Wired868
Get Shiggy with it! Army pip Rangers to near Caribbean spot, while Joevin makes Police debut

As Terminix La Horquetta Rangers owner Richard Ferguson strolled away from his Sportsmax interview in the aftermath of his team’s Read more

“The biggest game we will ever play!” T&T Beach Soccer enjoys moment in the sun

The Trinidad and Tobago Men’s National Beach Soccer Team will be playing for an inaugural spot at the Bali 2023 Read more

Connection and Central set to kick off TTPFL, no break for international match window

The TT Premier Football League now has a kick off date. The Trinidad and Tobago Football Association (TTFA) today revealed Read more

Gov’t commits TT$9m to TTPFL; fixtures, title sponsor and cash prizes still unknown

The Government of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago (GoRTT) will commit a sum of TT$9m over a three-year span Read more

Dear Editor: How is TTFA debt free if it must repay secret loan? And where are Elite League details?

“[…] Questions linger. Others arise… The NC has never explained where the money to pay ‘the historic debt’ originated. “[…] Read more

TTFA suggests new dawn with Elite League, but still no kickoff date, clubs or long-term structure

It was termed as the “Dawn of a New Era” in Trinidad and Tobago football by SporTT Company chairman Douglas Read more

About Editor

Check Also

Get Shiggy with it! Army pip Rangers to near Caribbean spot, while Joevin makes Police debut

As Terminix La Horquetta Rangers owner Richard Ferguson strolled away from his Sportsmax interview in …

5 comments

  1. Sancho-Warner-UNC-Kamla-Sancho-Warner-UNC-Kamla….

  2. Cronyism… A key character trait of the nasty underbelly of the local football fraternity….
    Nice eh???
    All hail the Normalisation!

    • Gentlemen, You seem to be allowing Wired868 to mislead you? Where is the evidence that Mr Sancho is in bed with anyone who is now or was earlier in a position of power in national football?
      Don’t tell me DJW. Aren’t Central FC and W Connection always at each other’s throats?
      Where is the evidence that Mr Sancho is in bed with anyone who is now or was earlier in a position of power in the UNC?
      Don’t tell me KPB. Hasn’t Mr Sancho consistently denounced the UNC Political Leader as not the best person to lead the party?
      Besides, look at the scores of happy, well-paid, totally satisfied players and coaches on the Central FC books. Is that not evidence that Mr Sancho is a very successful club administrator and has therefore earned his nomination by the sweat of his own brow?
      Please do not allow your own biases or Wired868’s biases to get in the way of an objrctive response.
      Thank you very much.

      • -Club owner
        -Head of TT Pro league
        -Vocal Supporter of NC
        Selected
        -6% of applicants selected
        -1 from a country that was recently banned for taking fifa to court
        =
        Cronyism

  3. …the plot thickens…extension of the normalization committee’s duration and mandate next?…

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.