TTFA members upset

TTFA president David J
ohn-Williams
TTFA president David J ohn-Williams

Jelani Beckles

MEMBERS OF the TT Football Association are upset that the Annual General Meeting carded for yesterday, was postponed for a fourth time.

The AGM was orginally carded to take place in November 2017, but was postponed because not enough members received financial statements. The AGM was then carded to take place on December 23 but, the president of the TTFA David John-Williams and financial manager Tyril Patrick did not attend and the members refused to have the meeting take place. On February 20, the AGM was postponed again because John-Williams did not attend.

Yesterday, there was some confusion at the AGM due to different opinions on the interpretation of the constitution of the TTFA. John-Williams insisted there was no a quorum to start.

However, TTFA members at the meeting said there were enough members to start the meeting according to their understanding of the constitution because it was a reconvened meeting and a quorum was not needed to start.

TTFA member Anthony Harford said, “Osmond Downer (Referees Committee board member) led the argument for the meeting by quoting from the constitution, by saying this is a reconvened meeting and not a new meeting and therefore the meeting should proceed whether it is one person or the 49 people. That was backed up by all the other people on the floor, who kept saying that yes, we can continue, the 20 something people who were there.”

The meeting was ordered to be held in 14 days by John-Williams. Members are concerned that the meeting will not take place in 14 days because the meeting is now carded for Easter weekend.

Members of the TTFA also heard that the Chief Accounting Officer has resigned and the board of the TTFA has not informed members.

Members are concerned about the accounts of the TTFA including the sources of income. Members want to find out how much money came in from FIFA and CONCACAF and want to see how the money spent within the TTFA is broken down. Another TTFA member Selby Browne, giving his thoughts on yesterday’s proceedings said, “Everyone told him he had no such authority (to call off the meeting), the meeting had to decide that...this is a reconvened meeting. You had several persons.”

Browne added that John-Williams is trying to run the TTFA as if it his club – W Connection. “Maybe he is accustom to running his club W Connection like that which he owns. Any type of autocratic behaviour is one that cannot be condoned and the decision was taken when the new constitution was brought in to have a board of directors of which the president is one of 14, and it is the collective board of directors that must run the TTFA. The days of a president on his own conviction are long gone in football.”

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