Touching base with Kevin Harrison

1. Kevin, welcome, give us a brief on the background of FPATT.
I'd like to firstly cover the background to the formation of FPATT and the motivations behind it. Brent, Kelvin, Shaka, and, I believe, Stern had believed for some time that players in Trinidad and the International players needed a union to protect their rights. As you will observe, these players all play abroad. This is no coincidence. After meeting local players in Trinidad & Tobago last week, I realised they had little knowledge of playing conditions abroad. Often, one cannot see beyond one's own horizon, even if you know there is more across the oceans. Only when players see for themselves the protection, support and power obtainable, do they realise what they have been without. There is no doubt in my mind that the Warriors foresaw the kind of dispute that they are now embroiled in. After a similar incident a few years ago, FPATT was conceived, yet didn't get beyond the first few steps. It is incredibly complex to form a legal constitution, find personnel and experts to work for nothing, address fundraising issues and tackle the myriad tasks surrounding the formation of a trade union. Especially when you live thousands of miles away and have your own career to focus on.

2. What really transpired between the players and the TTFF concerning the promised bonus.
The current impasse occurred mainly due to a lack of written contracts. When Mr Warner agreed to pay the players a bonus of 30% of net revenue, obviously the players were pleased. They knew there was a multi million pound Adidas deal. They knew there was a significant e-bay deal, they knew there were TV-rights to the warm up games. They imagined a gross income of at least £12,000,000. Even after expenses, there would be a large bonus. Then Mr Warner increased the players pool to 50%. Imagine, then, their feelings when they were each offered £485!
When they asked for accounts to show where the money was spent, they were shown a spread sheet that they did not believe was accurate. TTFF refused to provide audited accounts and the players became frustrated. A split occurred because 16 players wanted to take legal action, while the other 7 opted not to, for reasons that remain their own. They did, however, believe that the treatment of all of them was incorrect.

3. Is this blacklist legal.
Silence followed, and it became obvious that the 16 players, though wanting to play for T&T and making themselves available, were declared unavailable for selection by TTFF. Even coach Wim Rijsbergen admitted he would like the option of selecting from the 16. When Lawrence, Carlos and Clayton were called up, even though they were not involved in the court case, they decided to stand against the blacklist. It is believed that this blacklist is illegal and would be judged as victimisation.
During late 2006, some of the players decided it was time to push forward with FPATT, to ensure this kind of dispute would never re occur. If the union had been in place, it is likely that individuals would not have been blacklisted.

4. Tell us a bit about your work and how hard was it to form a union being based in the UK thousand of miles away.
I am a self employed financial adviser working for PFA Financial Management, and as such, spend a lot of time with players. I knew Ian Cox quite well and he introduced me to Brent and Kelvin, who asked for my help in getting FPATT off the ground. We held meetings with leading PFA officials, who explained the process and put us in touch with FIFPro, the world association of professional footballers unions. There are currently 42 unions with over 45,000 members.
We held a fundraising event in London which raised around £2,500. It has been very difficult to form a union in T&T from London, but we have help from people such as Alison Ayres who has worked extremely hard in Trinidad to pave the way for the players return to the islands.
Supporting FPATT has cost me personally over £5,000 in lost business, as I have not been paid a penny for my work with FPATT. I also paid my own flight and accommodation costs to go to Trinidad (although these will eventually be reimbursed).

5. How was your trip to T&T.
To give you an idea of my workload whilst in T&T, I will describe my first day there. I landed in Tobago around 5.30 p.m. I was met by Peter Granville, manager of Tobago United. We went straight to Channel 5 studios, where I conducted a TV interview. We then went to the Dwight Yorke Stadium to check on preparations for the FPATT funday the following day. I was then taken to meet the Tobago United players, watch them train, and then give a talk on the aims of FPATT. We then had more preparations for the funday to take care of. Finally, I checked into my hotel at 9.30p.m., 22 hours after I left from Gatwick Airport. After a quick shower and change, I finally got to have a cold carib (smile)....while I discussed the weeks plans with other FPATT helpers. Welcome To Trinidad & Tobago!!
My schedule was pretty much like that all week. I conducted 5 TV interviews, 3 radio interviews, numerous newspaper interviews, attended 3 matches, a 4 hour meeting with WIPA (cricket union) and a meeting with the Pro League that lasted over two hours. We held the first official FPATT meeting, and I had various meetings with individuals. So much for the Caribbean paradise!

6. Describe the meeting with WIPA & TT Pro League
The meeting with WIPA was extremely productive, and I feel we have formed a close bond which will see us work together in the future. I was also delighted by the response of the Pro League. There were representatives of 5 clubs as well as Dexter Skeene. I was well received and my views were sought on many issues outside of FPATT. I hope to be able to work with the Pro League in the development of football in T&T in the future. The Pro League made it clear that they are very much in support of FPATT and believe it is an important step forward in the professionalisation of T&T football. One area that both FPATT and the Pro League are keen to build on is supporter involvement, and we hope to see developments there soon.

7. So, what can FPATT achieve for players and supporters.
The truthful answer to that at this time, is, very little. Without funds, we cannot employ key professionals to build the union. Football is a business and, likewise, FPATT needs to be a business. The PFA in England received £16 million from tv rights alone last year! FPATT needs a manager who can control budgets, drive forward programmes and be acceptable to players, supporters and administrators alike. At this time, we do not have a person for this role in Trinidad. So, we ask for patience. The PFA is 100 years old. FPATT is one week old.

8. So what is your intentions on how you will go about getting funds.
One of our first tasks, aside from fundraising, is to create a list of ethical agents. FPATT will issue a minimum standard guideline and anybody wanting to be placed on FPATTs agent list should adhere to those minimum standards, or be removed. We feel this will immediately provide an important service to our members.
We hope to provide free legal advice to members very shortly.
We wish to liaise with the Pro League to maintain their standard contracts, and amend where needed.
We intend to introduce youth development programmes and have already identified key personnel.
We have a 5 year plan which will see many additions to the above, but, again, fundraising is paramount in the early years.

9. Will our overseas players benefit financially seeing that they are official members and are connected directly to FPATT or are they doing this for the good of the players.
I would also like to make it clear that the overseas players will not benefit in any way from the forming of this union. They will be non voting associate members, there to guide the union and follow the requests of local players. Eventually, it is hoped that the local players will play an increasingly active role in FPATTs day to day running.

10. What's next for you Kevin and will you join the SWO one day.
As for me? Well I need to earn some money in the UK! I will continue to assist where I can. I will also look to help the Pro League in its development, although at this stage, I'm not sure how much involvement is possible. Finally, I have been approached by some Jamaican internationals to help them to form a union as well. Next stop- Montego Bay!! I would also like to enroll myself on your board. I have been reading this site for a while, and it has given me a great insight to the feelings of the supporters and though I did not feel it correct to comment here myself, maybe some of Kent Soulmans comments were originally mine! This is a fantastic site, so keep up the good work!

Finally, I would like to publicly thank the Soca Warriors for making me welcome and showing me the sights in Port of Spain (occasionally through very bleary eyes - yeh unnerstan meh?!)

Thank You...
Kevin Harrison.

Note: On behalf of the Soca Warriors Online I just what to say Thank You to Mr. Kevin Harrison for taking the time to do this interview for us. Please keep up the great work you are doing and we wish you all the best in the future... you make us proud... good luck with FPATT and you have our 100% support. We also look forward to having you onboard the SWO.....

04-Jun-2007

You can read more on Kevin Harrison. Here is two pieces he did with Express writer Lasana Liburd, One.  Two.

FPATT- some comments on its aims.