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Fri, Mar

Decision Day for football.
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It is now a race to the finish for the post of president of the T&T Football Association. After months of intense campaigning by candidates, the Annual General Meeting (AGM) which includes the Election of Executive Officers will begin at 2:00 pm this afternoon at the VIP Lounge of the Hasely Crawford Stadium, Mucurapo.

The incumbent Raymond Tim Kee will be challenged for the right to manage the affairs of football in T&T by his friend and colleague in football David John-Williams, who is president of T&T Pro League club W Connection, ex-World Cup referee Ramesh Ramdhan, Selby Browne, the Veteran Football Federation president and Clynt Taylor, the first vice president of the T&T Football Referees Association. 

A total of 49 votes will be cast during the preceeding, and football pundits are predicting that the winner will have to get at least 25 of the votes, but the mathematics can be different today depending on how many delegates turn up. 

It is expected that John Williams will benefit tremendously from the T&T Pro League which has a total 10 votes, being a pro league campaigner through his club W Connection. Apart from the TT pro league however, the votes will come from; EFA 3, SFA 3, TFA 3, CFA 3, NFA 3, Eastern Counties Football Union (ECFU) 3, Referee Association 2, Super League 8, Schools League 1, Veteran Football Federation (VFF) 1, Women’s League 2, Primary Schools 1, Coaches 1, American Youth Soccer Organisation (AYSO) 1, Beach Soccer 2 and Futsal 2.   

During their campaign the candidates all shared their plans for football to the public and the football electorate. John Williams and his team of Ewing Davis (first vice president), Joanne Salazar (second vice president) and Allan Warner (third vice president) have promised a better image for the sport as well as opportunities for youth development and a livelihood from the sport. 

However, Tim Kee, who asking for an opportunity to finish a job that he started back in 2012 has said he will ensure proper accountability, fairness, transparency and a welcome return of corporate T&T to the business of football. 

The incumbent has also allocated a parcel of land at Union Marabella which he expects to use for the construction of a home for football and will implement an independent auditing committee to ensure transparency. However, Browne wants to see a return of the Glory Days of the sport and feel that T&T should also be returned to the number one spot in the Concacaf region. 

He said achieving this can only be done only if he and his team are given the opportunity to refocus and introduce development initiatives from the primary school all the way to the senior level. Meanwhile Ramdhan is promising a complete overhaul of the sport and ensure that T&T no longer struggle to qualify for World Cups and other major tournaments but they are among the top teams in the tournament. 

Joined by businessman John Sabga and a multi talented marketing personnel Curtis Rudd, they plan to implement proper marketing plan that will assist in securing funds and woo corporate TT to get back into the game. There will also be major development plans for referees and all involve Ramdhan said. 

Meanwhile Taylor says that while he will develop the game in it entirety, he will focus on the image of the sport who has gone worldwide.

RELATED NEWS

CFA executive replaces delegates.
By Walter Alibey (Guardian).


...as TTFA elects president under new constitution today

Hours before today’s T&T Football Association Annual General Meeting (AGM) which includes the important election of a president, officials of the Central Football Association (CFA) have made a last-ditch effort to replace three delegates following the recent change in the Zone’s administration on Monday. 

Delegates Glen Khan of Leeds FC, Oswald Mayers of Carapichaima Playmakers, former general secretary

Stephen Bartholomew and an alternate Allan Logan of Perseverance, were chosen by the previous central executive under president Bryan Layne. They were expected to cast their votes for Ramesh Ramdhan who was said to have been nominated by the CFA. 

But following Wednesday’s AGM and election in the central zone, a new administration was elected unopposed. It is being headed by businessman Shymdeo Gosine. Yesterday, Jimmy Henry, the new secretary of administration told the Guardian that a proposal was made to replace Mayers, Bartholomew and Logan with Gregory Mc Sween- of Harlem Strikers,  and Anthony Job as the alternate and himself. An alternate it is understood, is the person who will be a replacement of any of the delegates cannot vote at an election. 

Henry said he contacted the football association’s Acting general secretary Paula Chester yesterday about the change and he was advised to write a letter stating his association’s intentions. Henry said the change is almost certain as the TTFA’s constitution states clearly in Article 22; Subsection 3—that “Delegates must belong to the member zone that they represent and be appointed or elected by the appropriate body of that member. They must be able to produce evidence of this upon request”  

Contacted Chester made it clear that provisions for such a situation were catered for within the football association and therefore the request was granted. “In fact, we have a meeting last week with all the members and this was a matter that came up and needed to be addressed” Chester said. 

Henry and his association have publicly stated that it would not have supported Ramesh Ramdhan because he was not the choice by the general membership before the Zone’s AGM and he not the choice of the new Central Zone executive. But yesterday Henry explained that having listened to the plans of the candidates he was impressed by them all. He did not say who he would vote for but noted that he has already narrowed down his options to two candidates that he is seriously considering. 

Today, he will meet with the other delegates to decide on which candidate the Central zone will support and vote for. 

The main position of president will be contested by five individuals which includes the incumbent Raymond Tim Kee, Clynt Taylor- a first vice p-resident of the T&T Referees Association, Selby Browne- the president of the Veteran Football Federation (VFF) and David John-Williams- the president of TT Pro League Club W Connection and Ramdhan, a former World Cup referee. 

Gosine, when quizzed on who his association would vote for, explained that he will sit with the clubs to decide on a candidate to support. 

...North Zone AGM postponed

Meanwhile, Thursday’s AGM and election of the Northern Football Association (NFA) did not come off as planned and the club representatives and candidates do not know why the meeting did not take place. 

One candidate Nevick Denoon said it is total mayhem in the zone as the present executive appear reluctant to have elections. Thirteen clubs showed up for the elections such as Maple, Malvern, Paragon, Barataria Warriors, RSSR, Petit Valley, Clint Marcelle Coaching Academy, Cosmos Eagles and Morvant Element. 

In attendance for the election were Marcelle, a former national midfielder and vice president of the NFA along with secretary Dale Tavares. Notably absent was incumbent president Roland Forde, who it is understood was ill.

Denoon said they are unsure of what is happening now because no information has been forthcoming. The post of presidency is being contested by Marcelle, sports administrator Tony Harford and Denoon.