Dear Editor: SSFL failed Moruga and Miracle Ministries; ruling “lazy and heavy-handed”

“[…] What real advantage has a team possibly gained by registering their players minus the school stamp and principal’s signature? None that I can see.

“What real advantage has a coach gained by sending messages asking the governing body to check the player registration list and let him know if there is any irregularity, so he can address it immediately?

“Do those two things sound like persons engaged in nefarious activity? We are saying the ‘advantage’ they got from that warrants them being relegated? […]”

The following Letter to the Editor on Secondary School Football League (SSFL) Disciplinary Committee decisions against Moruga Secondary and Miracle Ministries Pentecostal High School was submitted to Wired868 by Arima North Secondary technical director and QPCC head coach Wayne Sheppard:

(Moruga and Miracle Ministries were both stripped of zonal titles, denied the chance to compete for promotion to the Premier Division, and, in the case of Moruga, threatened with relegation.)

In my humble opinion, Secondary Schools Football League (SSFL) executives have failed Moruga Secondary and Miracle Ministries Pentecostal High School twice here and walked away scotch free, whilst both schools are left to pick up the pieces and pay the ultimate price.

First, I remember after the Princes Town Secondary and Shiva Boys’ Hindu College fiasco in 2017, the then executive indicated that they were creating a standing committee—akin to the NCAA clearing house—to peruse, critique, identify and correct all player registrations, so no such issues could arise again.

I believe this was named the credentials committee. (I stand to be corrected on the name.) My point is where is that committee now and what are its duties?

How could a team be issued Player IDs for the season and then be deemed to be improperly registered? How could a basic, easily identifiable, easily fixed issue such as a missing signature and stamp from the school’s principal end up being such a contentious issue?

Someone failed to do their job and is blaming Moruga and Miracle Ministries fully.

Second, back in the 2018 and 2019 seasons, registration was supposed to be on-line. There were issues which made that effort cumbersome and problematic. So, teams were allowed to register via hardcopy.

The issues were supposed to be addressed and resolved. Then came Covid, which meant there was no football for two years.

That was a great opportunity to correct the issues of the online system, right? Apparently not.

This downtime apparently wasn’t properly utilised. So, the 2022 season came around and we were in the same position.

At the start of 2023 season, another party presented an online database system to the general council that could do much more besides just registration.

We, at Arima North Secondary, registered our team online in 2023. Some teams, for whatever reason, were allowed to register via hardcopy (paper). If you are allowing two means of registration then both have to be policed properly. Obviously, this wasn’t the case and here we are.

Who is accountable for not properly policing the means of registrations they offered the schools? Is it Moruga? Miracle Ministries? Or is it SSFL?

Finally, what real advantage has a team possibly gained by registering their players minus the school stamp and principal’s signature? None that I can see.

What real advantage has a coach gained by sending messages asking the governing body to check the player registration list and let him know if there is any irregularity, so he can address it immediately?

Do those two things sound like persons engaged in nefarious activity? We are saying the “advantage” they got from that warrants them being relegated?

Correct me if I am wrong but I don’t believe that any of the players are ineligible as it pertains to SSFL registration guidelines—except that their “manager” didn’t do his job properly. This was then compounded by SSFL not doing their job properly.

If SSFL had done their job properly, then Moruga and Miracle Ministries would have been stopped immediately and, worst case scenario, would have forfeited points in maybe their first game.

SSFL did not do their jobs properly and are instead using a get out of jail card from the constitution which states that, ultimately, proper registration is the responsibility of each school.

This to me is wrong and allows for unscrupulous persons to take advantage of it as was done in the past (remember 2017)?

Which leaves us right back where we were in 2017 when the SSFL executive deemed the going-ons embarrassing enough that they sought to stamp it out. Except now they are saying “we leaving it up to allyuh teams to fix it”.

If ever one needed a visual example of “going around in a circle” and “spinning top in mud”, you’ve got it right here .

Moruga and Miracle Ministries have blame to shoulder. But it is the blame of not going over their registration with a fine-tooth comb. If you say there is a penalty to pay for this then fine, I agree (see my point above about each having to forfeit points for first game).

But nothing I have read or heard on the matter speaks to either school maliciously trying to bend the rules. The judgment handed down, in my opinion, is lazy and heavy-handed all in one.

If they are being asked to pay the ultimate price, then my question is what price do the SSFL executives in charge of this pay?

An even better question is why are the young men, who did nothing other than work hard towards achieving a goal, the ones who are really paying the price?

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Wayne 'Barney' Sheppard

Wayne Sheppard is the Arima North Secondary technical director and ex-Men’s National U-15 assistant coach. He holds a TTFA ‘B’ coaching license and diplomas from USC, CANOC and TTOC.
He is the co-host of the Burdie and Barney Show and a former T&T National U-23 and U-17 player.