Aanensen: Camps wanted best for TT football

OLIVER CAMPS, the late president of the TT Football Association (TTFA), wanted the best for TT football, according to ex-Soca Warriors manager Bruce Aanensen.

Camps, who was also manager of both the 1973 and 1989 (Strike Squad) teams who both narrowly missed out of World Cup qualification, died on Tuesday morning (New Year’s Day) at the St Clair Medical Centre. He was 87.

The ex-Maritime Insurance Limited chairman served as president of the then TT Football Federation (TTFF) from 1992 to October 2011, when he resigned after the cash-for-votes FIFA scandal.

The former president of The Harvard Club was also embroiled in two legal matters, which tainted his legacy.

The TTFF, with Camps at the helm, lost a legal battle with 13 members of the 2006 Soca Warriors team over non-payment of World Cup bonuses.

And, in January 2016, he had to sell one of his properties to pay an approximate $3.8 million debt owed to former TT coach and ex-Netherlands defender Wim Rijsbergen whose salary had not been paid by the local governing body.

“Ollie was a great servant of the game of football (but) he got himself entangled, unfortunately, in some situations either through him being very naïve or over-trusting of people,” said Aanensen yesterday. “He always meant well, he had a good heart and he always wanted to do what was best for football.”

Aanensen continued, “To see a man end up the way he did, after serving football for the length of time that he did is very unfortunate. He was a nice man, always very pleasant. In travels with him in 2005 and 2006, we always had friendly conversations. We all have to go at some time and, at 87, I think he would have lived a good life.”

Both men spent decades in the financial sector – Camps with Maritime and Aanensen with Royal Bank (now RBC).

“In the sphere of business, banking-wise and insurance-wise, I never really had too much involvement with Ollie,” said Aanensen. “I didn’t have any great interface with him. To have reached (as) chairman of (Maritime), he must have been doing something right.”

Asked what he will remember most about Camps, especially during the Germany campaign, Aanensen replied, “Ollie was always smiling, always very supportive of the players, of everybody, always encouraging people to do their best and put everything out for the country.

“I don’t think he really had a bad bone in his body, he just got caught up in some unfortunate situations which ended badly for him.”