Did TTFA ask FIFA to intervene?

UNITED TTFA, the slate led by William Wallace and set to contest the November 24 TT Football Association (TTFA) general election, is asking the football body's president David John-Williams to state publicly whether or not the association issued a letter to FIFA to request intervention in the upcoming vote.

In a media release issued yesterday, United TTFA said it was given reliable information that such a letter was sent to TTFA, which it says, if authentic, is an insult to the integrity of its members incapable of properly managing the election. There is speculation that the letter requested FIFA install a normalisation committee.

"United TTFA has been advised by multiple independent and credible sources of a letter emanating from the office of the TT Football Association requesting the intervention of FIFA in the TTFA elections carded for 24 November 2019.

"Specifically, United TTFA has been informed this letter expresses concern over fraud in these elections and invites FIFA to establish a normalisation Ccmmittee (sic) to manage TTFA affairs into the foreseeable future.

"Any claim that the TTFA's Electoral Committee is incapable of properly managing the association's elections is an insult to the integrity of its members," the media release read. "And an intervention by FIFA into the internal affairs of TTFA could only result in the further erosion of the association's standing and credibility both locally and internationally.

Newsday was unable to reach John-Williams yesterday for confirmation of the letter's authenticity.

However, while United TTFA said it was in the process of securing "hard evidence" of the letter and its contents, the group asked that John-Williams declare publicly the veracity of the letter's purported contents, although it added that it received the information from more than one "very credible source."

United TTFA, led by Secondary Schools Football League (SSFL) president William Wallace, will contest the November 24 TTFA elections. The slate will launch its manifesto titled Programme for the Salvation of TTFA, this morning at the Queen's Park Oval, Woodbrook.

The event will be streamed live on TT Television Network (TTEN), from 9 am, while Sportmax will air a delayed broadcast.