The silence of the FIFA-appointed Normalisation Committee Chairman Robert Hadad has become a major concern for some technical officials of the local football fraternity.
Almost six weeks into his tenure as chairman, both coaches and technical officials, who agreed to speak to Guardian Media Sports on the condition of anonymity on Thursday, are calling on Hadad to break his silence and outline what are his plans for local football both financially and from a technical standpoint.
“Mr Hadad held a zoom meeting for technical staff members on April 29 and at the end of it, we left in the same way we started. We don't know what is happening. Are we going to be paid, when will we be paid, will resume training in post-COVID-19, what is happening with the T&T Football Association accounts, what is happening with our national teams and the T&T Pro League, what about our plans for coming qualifiers and tournaments etc,” two coaches asked.
The coaches have also said disappointingly that there have also yet to hear a word from Hadad's deputy, attorney and Environmentalist Judy Daniel, and retired banker and businessman Nigel Romano, who is also a director and partner at More TT and the chairman at National Flour Mills.
The two got the nod to work alongside Hadad from the world governing body for football - FIFA on March 27, when it decided to appoint a normalization committee to manage the affairs of TT football, citing a real risk of insolvency and illiquidity, with no concrete plans of clearing a debt, alleged to be $50 million on March 17.
Two other members are supposed to be added to the committee, upon the appointment of the CONCACAF and the FIFA soon.
Hadad, the HADCO Group of Companies director, was baptized into local football administration with a battle through the Court of Arbitration for Sports (CAS), between FIFA and the ousted administration that was led by William Wallace and his three vice president Clynt Taylor, Joseph 'Sam' Phillip and Susan Joseph-Warrick.
He also had to put his legal personnel on standby to secure ownership of the TTFA letterhead, while, at the same time, challenge Wallace for use of the football association bank accounts.
Hadad is expecting grant and COVID-19 Relief funds from the FIFA but has to wait until he can get used of the TTFA's First Citizens Bank accounts. In the latest saga for the account, the bank has called on both Hadad and Wallace to walk with a legal document showing they have the right to use the account.
The T&T Football Association is in line to receive US$1.2 million (an estimated TT$6.7million), plus a CONCACAF US$160,000 (an estimated TT$1,040,000) grant, as well as an unknown amount for the relief fund to the Normalisation Committee.
SOURCE: T&T Guardian