TTFA to receive FIFA grants

THE TT Football Association (TTFA) is set to receive a ‘universal solidarity grant’ of US$1 million, an additional US$500,000 specifically for women’s football, plus a US$2 million grant, from FIFA.

These sums will be part of a US$1.5 billion relief plan to help deal with the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on the sport globally.

In a report on Reuters on Thursday, “FIFA’s plan means world soccer’s governing body will dip into its reserves to provide national federations with a number of grants and interest-free loans to cope with budget hits.”

Staff and coaches employed by the TTFA, during the four-month long reign of William Wallace (November 2019 to March 2020) and the Robert Hadad-headed normalisation committee, are yet to be paid.

Asked how does the TTFA plan to utilise these sums and will some funds go towards outstanding staff payments, TTFA general secretary Ramesh Ramdhan said on Thursday, “Of course FIFA would specify how those funds should be spent.”

Ramdhan was unable to state when the TTFA expects to receive the funds from the global governing body for football, while efforts to contact Hadad proved futile.