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“[…] Despite a promise by Normalisation Committee member Nicholas Gomez, the Trinidad and Tobago Football Association (TTFA) remains without a functioning technical committee for close to two years and there is no transparent, standardised process for the hiring of coaches.
“[…] We would like to remind Mr Robert Hadad and company that football belongs to the people of Trinidad and Tobago. They have a responsibility as stewards and communication is not optional…”
The following is a media statement from the Unified Football Coaches of Trinidad and Tobago (UFCTT) on the hiring practices of the Fifa-appointed normalisation committee:
The body has not functioned since while the normalisation committee refuses to run statutory bodies, as required by the TTFA Constitution.
The Unified Football Coaches of Trinidad and Tobago (UFCTT) remains frustrated by the administration and governance of Trinidad and Tobago’s football by the Fifa-appointed Normalisation Committee.
Despite a promise by Normalisation Committee member Nicholas Gomez, the Trinidad and Tobago Football Association (TTFA) remains without a functioning technical committee for close to two years and there is no transparent, standardised process for the hiring of coaches.
The UFCTT also notes the inconsistent manner in which national staff appointments are now made public. In the past, the TTFA would issue a media release or post information on its website and send the press a link to said story, as was done with new Women’s National Senior Team assistant coach Carlos Edwards.
However, the manner in which the appointments of Derek King, Abdallah Phillips, Anton Pierre and Rayshawn Mars were made public was wholly unsatisfactory and very unprofessional, to say the least.
Eve is also head coach of the National Under-20 Team.
(via TTFA Media)
We would like to remind Mr Robert Hadad and company that football belongs to the people of Trinidad and Tobago. They have a responsibility as stewards and communication is not optional.
In the absence of a technical committee, whose responsibility it should be to develop criteria for coaching staff, vet applicants and approve candidates, we are left with holes in the process.
This is not a question of the competence or qualification of the coaches hired, but it addresses the same issues the UFCTT raised when Richard Hood and Dernelle Mascall were hired without proper process.
Ironically, Angus Eve, one of the founding members of the UFCTT, was the one publicly making the case for a more transparent process on that occasion. With Mr Mars, a UFCTT executive member, being one of the new appointees, it is lamentable that individual interests continue to undermine our stated position.
Mars is now also goalkeeper coach of the Men’s National Under-20 Team although the position was not advertised by the TTFA.
(via UFCTT)
We need to adopt a professional approach that will minimise the appearance of nepotism, create hope and instill confidence in the coaches of Trinidad and Tobago.
The UFCTT has decided that this will be our last response to the Normalisation Committee’s continued neglecting of proper process for the selection of coaches. We do not see this as our singular purpose nor do we see ourselves as the sole watchdog.
We have always said that all stakeholders and even the public must hold whoever is in governance accountable for guiding our football along the correct path.
We have listened to the deafening silence of stakeholders while the Normalisation Committee continues its erosion of any remaining football structures.
(Copyright Gary Jordan Photography ©2017)
The UFCTT is committed to continuing our work in the areas of providing meaningful benefits and enhancements to our members, through insurance coverage, access to equipment, and coaching education at realistic costs as well as networking opportunities.
We hope for the sake of Trinidad and Tobago’s football that the Normalisation Committee has good intentions because after two years they are yet to prove it.
Editor’s Note: The Fifa-appointed normalisation committee, which runs the Trinidad and Tobago Football Association (TTFA), comprises Robert Hadad (chairman), Judy Daniel (vice-chair), Nigel Romano and Trevor Nicholas Gomez.
The committee’s original two-year appointment expires in March 2022 but they have already been granted a one-year extension by Fifa.
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The Normalisation Committee couldn’t care less about what the Coaches Association, football people or the public thinks. In fact, its contempt for everybody is yet again evidenced in its recruitment, under cover of darkness and for the second time, of a Coaches Association officer to a national team position in flagrant contempt of the very transparency the Association is calling for. It’s time for the Association to “examine the horns” within its own operation because it evidently can’t rely on its own leaders to abide by the principles the Association is articulating, and which the leaders are supposed to be championing.
It’s a bad joke. The national motto of this country should be “What’s in it for me?”