Long standing general secretary of the Secondary Schools Football League (SSFL) Azaad Mohammed-Khan has been tipped to be the new general secretary of the T&T Football Association (T&TFA).
The T&T Guardian has learned that newly-elected president David John-Williams has handpicked Khan on the advice of his first vice president Ewing Davis, both of whom worked together for several years in the school’s league. Davis served as the school’s league president but pulled out three years ago.
On Sunday, at the T&TFA’s annual general meeting and election of officers, Davis was elected as T&TFA vice president ahead of businessman John Sabga and Carib’s Colin Murray.
When asked about his general secretary yesterday, John-Williams refused to comment. However, he said that a meeting with the ex-general secretary Sheldon Phillips was scheduled to take place soon. Phillips, son of the football association’s former technical director Lincoln Phillips, has been out of a job since being sacked by former president Raymond Tim Kee for his failure to follow directives relating to the operations of the T&TFA on October 20.
He has since questioned the decision to fire him and asked the board of directors of the association to deal with the matter.
A number of meetings were held concerning this issue and Tim Kee was asked to rescind the termination letter handed to Phillips and replace it with a letter of suspension, as there were legal ramifications. The then TTFA boss was later advised to seek legal advice from the association’s attorney Derek Ali. However, Tim Kee refused to overturn his decision although a deadline of November 9 was given.
As a result, executive members of the TTFA wrote FIFA explaining that they were unable to move forward as an association because of the issue as well as other matters.
On Sunday, Tim Kee revealed contents of a legal document signed by Ali, which stated that the board did not have the power of using its discretion and had to act upon the advice of the president.
Tim Kee had said on Sunday that his action to sack Phillips was based on the TTFA constitution which states the president “has the power to propose the appointment or dismissal of the general secretary.”
But with Tim Kee out, John Williams, who met with the staff at the TTFA for the first time yesterday, said he was in the process of working out a number of pending matters. He met with Phillips to determine the way forward. Some of the options opened to him, it is understood, was full payment to Phillips or re-instatement.
John-Williams, who has now officially handed over the reigns of his club W Connection to his daughter, said the association was in the process of cutting a cheque to pay off women’s football coach Even Pellerud on the advice of the FIFA. The world governing body for football has threatened to ban T&T from getting monies for development if they did not pay Pellerud.
John-Williams also responded to calls by the FIFA for audited accounts and minutes of the congress meeting to be handed in, if the country was to obtain funding. He said they were in the process of dealing with that matter.