The FIFA-appointed Normalisation Committee (NC) failed to get approval for 2019 audited financial statements after the members were not satisfied with the responses to questions asked during the T&T Football Associations virtual Annual General Meeting (AGM) on Sunday.
Guardian Media Sports has seen two letters with questions from the Veteran Footballers Foundation of T&T and Pro League club W Connection in which several questions about the financial health of the TTFA were raised in addition to other questions from delegates in which Robert Hadad, the chairman of the (NC) has deferred responses for an Extraordinary General Meeting (EGM) in October .
The AGM was attended by 37 out of the 47 delegates that were eligible to vote at the meeting of the general membership before it ended around 2:40 pm. The TTFA acting general secretary Amiel Mohammed said the overall attendance was 40 individuals, but 37 was present to acknowledge the roll call and constituted a quorum.
Also present was FIFA director of Member Associations for the Americas - Jair Bertoni, CONCACAF Chief Officer, Member Associations - Marco Leal, FIFA Member Associations Governance Manager - Sofia Malizia and Caribbean Football Union General Secretary – Camara David.
The meeting deferred item 10 (b) which was the approval of the financial for 2019 and items 12 and 13 which dealt with the dismissal and admission of a member of the TTFA.
According to a release yesterday from the T&TFA, "Many of the issues were addressed, the following items are still to be resolved/discussed:
• Approval of the Audited Financial Statements for the year ended 31st December 2019
• Expulsion of the Coaches Association
• Admission for Membership – pursuant to the Unified Football Coaches of T&T application."
The release also stated: "It was determined that these items will be tabled at an Extraordinary General Meeting (EGM) to be held in 14 days inclusive of the 2019 audited financial statements which are still to be approved. The members are tasked to review the 2019 financial statements in detail and understand the implications to the T&TFA, and table all additional questions to the external auditors Madan Ramnarine and Co.
Madan Ramnarine and Co, the Chartered Accounting firm, was appointed as the organization’s external auditors in 2018 by the T&TFA Membership.
In addition, during the 2018 AGM, the T&TFA Membership attempted to expel the Coaches Associations from the Membership based on inactivity/dormancy. However, this motion was not properly executed as per the T&TFA Constitution, and will now to be addressed at the upcoming EGM."
Hadad stated: “If we really wish to rebuild football in this country, then we must embrace the debt crisis as the entire membership’s problem. It is an unprecedented problem, but it is a problem that we all share. The issues have been aired, improvements in governance outlined, the need for fundraising and debt repayment stated – let us work together to restore this fractured association.”
With regards to the Expulsion of the Coaches Association, Guardian Media Sports has seen a copy of the minutes of the Extraordinary General Meeting (EGM) of the TTFA on April 21, 2018, that voted 18-9 after Osmond Downer moved a motion that was seconded by Anthony Harford to expelled both the Coaches Association and Players Association for: "The above two (2) association had not submitted any documents to fulfil TTFA's compliance policy, and there were no representatives to speak on their behalf. It was felt that due to non-activities of the two associations, they should be expelled from the TTFA."