PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad, (CMC) – Minister of Sports and Youth Affairs Shamfa Cudjoe has called for unity among stakeholders and an end to the wrangling between the ousted Trinidad and Tobago Football Association (TTFA) and the normalisation committee that FIFA appointed to replace it.

The two sides are in a fight for control of the association’s accounts at First Citizens Bank, while the ousted William Wallace-led executive appeals the decision by football’s world governing body to appoint the Robert Hadad-chaired committee to run the association’s affairs, at the Court of Arbitration for Sports (CAS) in Switzerland.
Stressing in an interview with Guardian Media on Monday that she was not taking sides, Cudjoe said she wanted all involved to work together in the interest of the players and the sport.

After FIFA uncovered financial mismanagement at the TTFA, it appointed the normalisation committee in March to replace the executive that was elected in the November 2019 elections.

“Football in Trinidad and Tobago has been in trouble for quite some time. So, if the parent body [FIFA] has stepped in with intention to restore football, to straighten things out, and to assist in coming up with a plan to get TTFA out of debt, then I think everybody who cares about football, and cares about the sport, the athletes, the footballers and so on, will get on board,” she said.

The minister contended that football in the twin-island republic has been tarnished and destroyed by personal egos and power struggles, and expressed hope that “in quick time, good sense prevails… and everybody could come to the table and speak with a face of positivity, unity and moving forward in the best interest of the sport”.

“I think FIFA and the normalisation committee through Robert Hadad, has come to assist and I think those who are in positions to assist should jump on board and assist,” she said.
“The tug-of-war and the throwing of words, the bacchanal on Facebook and on social media does not help anybody; it doesn’t help the TTFA, it doesn’t help FIFA and it certainly doesn’t help the athletes who are depending on this sport as a means of livelihood and as a means of income generator.”

The FIFA-appointed normalisation committee has been mandated to establish a plan to repay the association’s TT$50 million-plus debt, review and amend the local body’s statutes and other regulations where necessary and ensure their compliance with the FIFA statutes, and carry out elections