April 15 – After four years of a normalisation committee, one of the world’s most corrupt football associations finally has a newly elected president. Kieron Edwards (pictured) has been elected as the new president of the Trinidad and Tobago Football Association (TTFA).
The hope is that he will manage to last longer than the last elected president of the TTFA. William Wallace, his board, and a number of senior officials were removed by FIFA in March 2020, just three months after having been elected.
Since then the TTFA has been led, at least nominally, by local businessman Robert Hadad.
Hadad came in and was tasked to deal with mounting debt (historic and new), failure of previous TTFA officials to turn up to court hearings over that debt, the loss of control over the TTFA’s bank accounts, faux announcements of multi-million dollar sponsorship and the proposed dubious involvement in a $50 million property development plan.
National team coaches were fired and hired as the TTFA’s financial situation spiralled out of control and debt was built seemingly uncontrollably to unsustainable levels –between TT$35 million to TT$55 million depending on which of the debt is accepted as being legitimate. Staff went unpaid.
Edwards, is the president of the Eastern Football Association in Trinidad and Tobago (EFA) and campaigned under the ‘Team Progressive’ banner with a slate of nine candidates.
He defeated Colin Wharfe by 38 votes to 19. Wharfe campaigned under a ‘Team Transformation’ banner. Voting members were asked to decide for one of the two slates rather than vote for each position individually.
Edwards promised a “paradigm shift” in the governance of football in TT, with a focus on transparency and good governance.
His campaign also highlighted over 200 years of “football acumen” and promised to provide the “perfect mix of people who have the skill, the background, the experience and the years of dedicated service to others in the football fraternity, that will see our football experience a resurgence in excellence.”
That 200 years of experience is perhaps slightly concerning considering this is the country that gave football’s most-wanted criminal, Jack Warner, to the international football administration arena. Warner is still, successfully, battling extradition to the US where he is wanted for multiple charges of fraud, graft, bribery and money laundering.
William Wallace’s presidency was unable to put the spectre of Warner and his associates and henchmen behind him. Edwards first job will be to convince FIFA that he can. He then has to convince corporate Trinidad and Tobago that the TTFA is fit for purpose and deserving of their financial support. Only then will he have the finds to properly address player development and restore Trinidad and Tobago’s international playing reputation.
Contact the writer of this story, Nick Webster, at moc.l1735264209labto1735264209ofdlr1735264209owedi1735264209sni@o1735264209fni1735264209