Look Loy: TTFA’s attempt to blame Concacaf ‘ridiculous’

OUTSPOKEN TT Football Association (TTFA) board member Keith Look Loy has slammed the local football governing body’s attempt to blame Concacaf for the Association’s struggles to field men’s and women’s teams for the 2020 Olympic qualifiers.

On Monday, in a media conference at the Ato Boldon Stadium, in Couva, TTFA board member Richard Quan Chan called on corporate TT to help offset the US$165,000 required to send the teams to their respective qualifiers.

According to Quan Chan, “We have complained that the release of dates of Concacaf is not in keeping with good planning. One of the problems we are having is with Concaaf and one we have raised with them on a few occasions – the timing that they release dates.

“It would be more economical and a better financial decision at this time to focus on the other tournaments that are coming up than try and prepare an Olympic team in six weeks,” Quan Chan added. With Olympic Games staged quadrennially – the 2020 edition will take place in Tokyo, Japan – Look Loy pointed out yesterday, “This argument is nonsensical, ridiculous and an attempt to blame Concacaf and provide cover for the incompetence of the TTFA. Everybody knows (when) the fixtures are, (they) are the exact (FIFA) match dates.

“Everybody knows when the qualifying tournament would be played. This is just camouflage for incompetence.”

Look Loy noted the Board has virtually no say on current TTFA matters. “The Board is now redundant because of the appointment of this emergency committee. They have enough votes now to no longer need the Board to do anything.”

The emergency committee comprises president David John-Williams, vice-president Ewing Davis, Quan Chan (Southern FA), Selby Browne (Veterans Football Federation of TT), Anthony Moore (Tobago FA) and Bandele Kamau (Eastern FA).

Look Loy, president of the TT Super League, continued, “This situation with the Olympic teams is just more salt in the TTFA’s wound. The TTFA is broke and this is not the first team that has essentially been abandoned. The most recent one was the beach (soccer) team that had to find private sponsorship to go. The TTFA didn’t help them at all.

“Before that we had the Under-20s, the Under-17s, the women and so on. This is just the latest in a long line of national teams that has been abandoned. This is further evidence of the incompetence of (this) administration. “

Turning his attention on the Home of Football in Couva, Look Loy said, “The Home of Football is of no use to the national teams because the teams have little or no preparation. The chairman of the commission of the new T-League (Lindsay Gillette) was quoted in the media praising the Home of Football and talking about how water polo players would be using it. That facility was not built for water polo players, swimmers and cyclists. It was built to service the needs for TT football.

“I don’t want to hear about water polo players when my national teams can’t use it because we’re clocking out of competitions. ”