‘FIFA was a mafia’

NARISSA FRASER

THE PRIME Minister has said it took a lot of persistence from TTFA (TT Football Association) president David John-Williams for him to agree to assist with the Home of Football project.

At the facility’s official opening ceremony yesterday afternoon in Balmain, Couva, Dr Keith Rowley said he considered FIFA "a mafia,” so initially he dismissed John-Williams’ proposals.

“David John-Williams came to me in my capacity as Prime Minister and I said, ‘David, I don’t want to see you. I don’t want to hear.’

“As a football fan – if not fanatic – I watched, from the Parliament, FIFA becoming an international disgrace. In speaking as a parliamentarian in TT, to FIFA and to those who ran it – many of who were familiar to us – I had reason to put on Hansard and elsewhere, on political platforms, that FIFA was a mafia. And having said that, I also included Concacaf.” He said a colleague had to apologise for his “mafia” comments while in Switzerland, but he stood by them. “Well, if it was a mafia, you couldn’t call it a dog. FIFA was a mafia.”

But he said John-Williams was persistent, so he began considering the idea. “Eventually, to save myself from David, I allowed myself to see to it that he came (to see me). And he convinced me that he had an idea, a good idea, and this idea could work and it could improve our situation.”

He described the state of football at that time as a disaster. Rowley said he needed assurance from the TTFA boss that FIFA could be changed, and was then told FIFA president Gianni Infantino was the candidate TTFA would be supporting in the elections of February 26, 2016.

John-Williams told him, “ I want to bring to you the idea that there's somebody who’s running for FIFA’S leadership, and if that person wins, we would be able to change football and change FIFA.”

The other candidates were Prince Ali bin al-Hussein, Musa Bility, Jerome Champagne, Michel Platini, Sheikh Salman bin Ebrahim al-Khalifa and Tokyo Sexwale.

“I said, ‘Who is that?’ Because as far as I was concerned, all of them was mafioso. And worse – an Italian.

“He, too, had this idea about what could happen here, and David’s idea apparently was sold to him. He bought the idea and he asked me whether in fact I would help.”

The PM said his next question was: “How can the government assist?” and the discussion about state land began.

He said he told Infantino to ensure he ran FIFA with transparency and integrity moving forward.

“I was given a FIFA flag dated April 10, 2017. I took that flag back to my office at home and I put it on a bookshelf over my head. It was my intention to throw it in the dustbin sometime soon after, but I can tell you, last night I looked at the flag, and it is still there and I was pleased to know today, I could go back at home and look at that flag for keeps.”

He said the Government has always been and will continue to be a major supporter of football locally.