TTFA members want Wallace, court battles gone

THE majority of the TT Football Association (TTFA) membership voted to accept the appointment of FIFA’s normalisation committee and reject William Wallace as president.

A two-hour long Extraordinary General Meeting (EGM) was held on Sunday morning which allowed the membership to air their views. Wallace and vice presidents Sam Phillip and Clynt Taylor decided not to attend the meeting.

Wallace and his team have been in a legal battle with FIFA since March, over their removal and subsequent appointment of the normalisation committee to run local football.

TTFA board member and 2006 World Cup defender Brent Sancho said on Sunday 33 members were in favour of writing FIFA to inform the world governing body that they will accept the normalisation committee. Two members, FC Santa Rose and a Tobago representative, allegedly decided not to vote.

Richard Ferguson, who chaired the EGM, is expected to inform FIFA of the membership’s decision.

The majority also voted to end all court battles against FIFA. Members are hopeful that Wallace and his team will now resign and pave the way for FIFA to lift its ban and reinstall the normalisation committee to run local football.

“They accepted the normalisation committee and also to cease all legal actions.”

Sancho is hopeful the consensus at the EGM will force Wallace to step aside.

“There is a belief that the motion that we passed has set that up.”

The membership is optimistic that the FIFA suspension will be lifted.

On September 24, FIFA said, “The Bureau of the FIFA Council today suspended the TTFA with immediate effect due to grave violations of the FIFA Statutes.”

On the suspension, Sancho said, “I think all the persons that were involved in the meeting main concern was making sure that we do everything necessary to lift the suspension.”

Giving more details on why the TTFA was suspended, FIFA said, “The suspension was prompted by the former leadership of the TTFA lodging a claim before (the TT High Court) in order to contest the decision of the FIFA Council to appoint a normalisation committee for the TTFA.”

“This suspension will only be lifted when the TTFA fully complies with its obligations as a member of FIFA, including recognising the legitimacy of the appointed normalisation committee and bringing its own statutes into line with the FIFA Statutes.”

TTFA's suspension must be lifted by December 18 to compete in upcoming FIFA competitions.