Natl coaches barred from entering TTFA headquarters

TWENTY-ONE national coaches converged on the outskirts of the Ato Boldon Satdium in Couva, on Tuesday, to deliver a document to the TT Football Association (TTFA) secretariat highlighting their non-payment of salaries since FIFA’s installation of the normalisation committee in mid-March.

The document was addressed to Robert Hadad, chairman of the normalisation committee, and also contained the coaches’ contracts and agreements, some of which come to an end on Monday.

National coaches Terry Fenwick, Angus Eve, Wayne Sheppard, Stern John and Ross Russell were among the bunch who peacefully gathered outside the venue from 9.30 am to pen their signatures before disbursal.

Eve, who chaired the informal meeting, revealed they have not been paid in six months and are now seeking to construct a coaches association to ensure their voices can be heard at the board level.

“On April 29, the chairman met with us via Zoom call on that day and he said to the coaches and technical staff that he would get back to us and do individual meetings to validate the contracts that we have and to verify that they are all board approved. It has been about six months since then and nothing has happened,” he stated.

In mid-July, TTFA office staff were finally paid after a four-month wait. However, since the removal of the democratically-appointed William Wallace executive in March by FIFA, who cited “financial mismanagement” and “massive debt” by the TTFA, under the new Hadad-led administration, coaches are yet to be paid.

After the TT Government implemented lockdown restrictions in March to prevent the spread of covid19, all national team and club activity has been at a standstill. Although the coaches were unable to resume their respective training sessions due to the health crisis, to date, Hadad is yet to rectify their payment of salaries.

Eve added, “We’re very happy the staff got their salaries but we’re not asking for a grant, just our salaries. The money that we signed and worked for, it’s all we’re asking for. Especially in a time when there’s a pandemic and none of us have worked since last year. We also have family, children and bills to pay. We just want our voices to be heard.”

According to Naparima College football instructor, the majority of coaches were prevented from entering the Ato Boldon Stadium upon their arrival. Only a few, who arrived earlier, were allowed entry onto the compound.

When they approached the security booth to query their omission, the guard stated they were given instructions “by the office” to keep the gate closed. Eve dubbed this gesture, disrespectful.

“This action demonstrates the level of disrespect we have been getting as coaches. We are in charge of young people and developing young minds. Stern John, Terry Fenwick, Ross Russell. It’s a total disrespect for us to not even be able to drop off a document,” he said.

Veteran national goalkeeper Clayton Ince was one of the lucky ones to gain entry to the TTFA office at the stadium. Following Eve’s short meeting with the coaches and media, Ince was allowed to come to the gate and receive their document for delivery.

When he arrived, the security then allowed four additional coaches to enter alongside Ince. Eve, Sheppard, Richard Hood and another local tutor joined Ince to deliver their request to the TTFA secretariat.

The former TT midfielder Eve indicated that several arrangements and contracts were due to expire at the end of August and coaches wanted to ensure their outstanding salaries would be paid.

He stated that coaches have made multiple attempts to contact TTFA officials such as technical director Dion La Foucade and Emile Mohammed for an update on their salaries. All attempts proved futile.