[UPDATED] Wallace to appeal FIFA removal of TTFA board

FIFA has appointed former TT Football Association (TTFA) employee Tyril Patrick to lead the local football body before a normalisation committee is selected to run TT football. It is a decision that former TTFA president William Wallace, who was at the helm for less than four months, is not taking lightly. 

Patrick served as finance manager under David John-Williams, who was ousted as TTFA president in November 2019 after serving at the helm for four years.

On Tuesday, Fifa disbanded the executive led by Wallace. According to an article on the Fifa website, “The decision follows the recent Fifa/Concacaf fact-finding mission to TT to assess, together with an independent auditor, the financial situation of TTFA.

“The mission found that extremely low overall financial management methods, combined with a massive debt, have resulted in the TTFA facing a very real risk of insolvency and illiquidity. Such a situation is putting at risk the organisation and development of football in the country and corrective measures need to be applied urgently.”

On the recent decisions by Fifa, Wallace said, “We are not just taking this lying down. We have already engaged a legal representative and they have already sent up a letter to Fifa indicating to them that we are appealing this decision.”

Sports lawyer Dr Emir Crowne will be representing Wallace and the former administration.

Up to press time on Tuesday, the TTFA did not receive any correspondence from Fifa on its decision.

However, former general secretary of the TTFA Ramesh Ramdhan, who worked under Wallace, said the local football body received an e-mail at 2.40 am, on Wednesday, confirming the appointment of Patrick and the decision by Fifa to remove Wallace and his executive.

The letter to the TTFA said the normalisation committee will “run the TTFA’s daily affairs, to establish a debt repayment plan that is implementable by the TTFA, to review and amend the TTFA statutes (and other regulations where necessary) and ensure their compliance with the Fifa statutes and requirements before duly submitting them for approval to the TTFA congress and to organise and conduct elections of a new TTFA executive committee for a four-year mandate.”

It is not certain how long the normalisation committee will function for, but it will not last more than “24 months” according to Fifa. 

The e-mail by Fifa secretary general Fatma Samoura to Ramdhan explained the decision to hire Patrick on an interim basis. 

“In the interim and before the normalisation committee is fully operational, the TTFA administration’s management will be supervised by Mr Tyril Patrick, who will directly report to Fifa. The TTFA administration – in its entirety – will therefore report to Mr Patrick until the normalisation committee has been put in place.”

A forensic audit is also possible Fifa said, “Finally, a forensic audit of the TTFA accounts could be commissioned if deemed necessary by the relevant parties.”

Wallace, speaking about the appointment of Patrick, said, “As things unfold, the situation becomes even stranger in that Tyril Patrick was the finance person under the last administration.”

Under Wallace, the TTFA has signed deals with sponsors such as Caribbean Chemicals, Avec UK and Sports and Games. Wallace, who said those partnerships will come to an end because of the changes in local football, said he is uncertain if he will continue to be involved in the sport at an administrative level. 

“I saw myself in a role for the next four years, I saw myself playing a role where we would have been in a much better place. The debt would have been paid off and we would have been in a much better place as far as football is concerned. 

“Now that this has happened and action has been taken, I don’t see myself directly involved in TTFA football at all. I would always love the game and love the administration of the game, but I don’t see myself directly involved at all.”

Wallace said he inherited a debt of $50 million.

This story was originally published with the title "Fifa puts ex-TTFA finance manager in charge" and has been adjusted to include additional details. See original post below.

FIFA has appointed former TT Football Association (TTFA) employee Tyril Patrick to lead the local football body before a normalisation committee is selected to run TT football.

Patrick served as finance manager under John-Williams, who was ousted as TTFA president in November 2019 after serving at the helm for four years.

On Tuesday, Fifa disbanded the current executive led by president William Wallace. According to an article on the Fifa website, “The decision follows the recent Fifa/Concacaf fact-finding mission to TT to assess, together with an independent auditor, the financial situation of TTFA.

“The mission found that extremely low overall financial management methods, combined with a massive debt, have resulted in the TTFA facing a very real risk of insolvency and illiquidity. Such a situation is putting at risk the organisation and development of football in the country and corrective measures need to be applied urgently.”

Up to press time on Tuesday, the TTFA did not receive any correspondence from Fifa on its decision.

However, former general secretary of the TTFA Ramesh Ramdhan, who worked under Wallace, said the local football body received an e-mail early Wednesday morning confirming the appointment of Patrick and the decision by Fifa to remove Wallace and his excutive.

Asked if Fifa contacted TTFA, Ramdhan said, "I did so at 2.40 am this morning. They apologised saying it was sent to the wrong e-mail address."

Asked if the e-mail contained the appointment of Patrick, Ramdhan said, "Yes, that is in the letter as well."