December decision
Head coach of the senior men’s team Stephen Hart, has not yet made a decision about his future with the national team.
Hart, who had gone unpaid for several months before yesterday’s payout of arrears by the Government, told the Express at the Office of the Prime Minister in St Clair yesterday, “I would leave them (TTFA) alone right now.
They have the Women’s World Cup effort to deal with, but maybe over the December period or after the Christmas period we need to get together.”
Even though Hart, his technical staff and the players received their cheques yesterday, the mood in St Clair was not celebratory.
And asked if he would reconsider his future with the national team if certain conditions weren’t met, Hart said: “I think I need to sit down and evaluate the way forward and as I said, it is for the association (TTFA) to convince that they have a plan to go forward because we need a lot of things. We need to play more football...more training games we need go to training camps, we can’t just enter tournaments blind,”
He added: “When I start something, I really want to finish it. I have a great bunch of players not just those that went to Jamaica but some that didn’t make the camp. They are tremendously supportive, they have worked hard, they love the playing for their country.”
Also at yesterday’s cheque distribution was TTFA general secretary Sheldon Phillips.
He acknowledged that the football body still owed $12 million to previous coaches, technical staff members, vendors and also still had to pay off debts related to the Local Organising Committee (LOC) for the Women’s Under-17 2010 World Cup.
However, he was confident that there would not be a reoccurrence of lapses in payment to the current staff and players in 2015.
“One of the main revenues streams that we do anticipate that would come to fruition soon is the establishment of commercial partners and sponsorships...so I think 2015 is going to be much different from 2014, much different from 2013 and you’ll start to see that process that we have employed bring some fruits.”
Phillips added: “I think in the end we are gratified with the partnership and the relationship with the Government that allowed us to get to this point and take care of the senior men’s teams. We look forward to taking care of the youth teams as well.”
Hart also expects a change in how the TTFA operates.
“The players can’t be going into games and not in the frame of mind where all they have to worry about is the game,” he stressed.