SSFL president : Court ruling on TTFA debt repayment a wake-up call

SECONDARY Schools Football League (SSFL) president Merere Gonzales believes the High Court’s decision to approve the TT Football Association’s (TTFA) repayment proposal is a progressive step, but should also serve as a “wake-up call” to the sport’s administrators and stakeholders.

Gonzales, a TTFA executive member, expressed relief when, on Wednesday, Justice Devindra Rampersad signed off and approved the association’s repayment proposal filed by Maria Daniel, the trustee who acted on behalf of the TTFA normalisation committee.

This decision will allow the TTFA to begin dispensing payments to its creditors, some of whom, have been owed for more than a decade.

“I’m extremely gratified by the court’s ruling because it’s a step in the right direction since it’s in the best interest of TT football. Our football is at a stage where it needs further advancement, promotion, development and all that is necessary to become very progressive,” he said.

Gonzales credited Daniel and the normalisation committee for helping the TTFA reach this critical juncture.

He hopes this experience, which began in March 2020 when FIFA removed the then president (William Wallace) and his executive for shoddy financial management, serves as an eye-opener to administrators.

“We can only benefit from a decision like this taking into consideration that very grave errors, financial improprieties and lack of accounting were made. If we don’t learn from our history then we are doomed. I don’t think we would want to return to such a point.

“We have to ensure all TTFA stakeholders do what is necessary so their books and finances are in order, which will put us in good stead so, the annual FIFA subvention would be comfortably provided. We need to be transparent and accountable. It’s a massive wake-up call,” he added.

Gonzales said that the TTFA, and all other local sporting bodies, need to understand the importance of proper financing, budgeting and utilising their assets in a very prudent way.

This, he said, would aid the beneficiaries, mainly players, to achieve their goals and aspirations through the competent planning of administrators, inclusive of proper financial audited reports and statements.

Normalisation committee chairman Robert Hadad shared similar sentiments.

Commenting on the landmark approval, Hadad said, “I am grateful. We look forward to finally paying the debts that have crippled the Association for many years.

“This is another milestone along the path to fully remediating football and we will continue to work on completing this process. I would like to thank the trustee and her legal team and the TTFA staff for their efforts in helping us to reach this significant milestone.”

This comes after the TTFA notified the supervisor of insolvency, on November 8, 2021, of its intent to make a proposal under the Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act (2007) of TT, which would enable the restructuring of the TTFA using a fair, transparent and acceptable process to address the association’s long-standing debt.

The process, which was managed by licensed independent trustee Daniel, allowed the TTFA to manage its operations and provide a stay from all legal proceedings and creditor actions for a period of up to six months.

On May 5, 2022, Daniel met with creditors at the Home of Football, Couva, under the chairmanship of the supervisor of insolvency, where she outlined the process that she and her team undertook to validate creditor claims and work with the normalisation committee to develop the proposal.

At this meeting, the proposal which would be funded via an interest-free US$3.5 million financial instrument, was approved unanimously by the creditors whereby validated creditors owed up to TT$200,000 will be paid in full and balances above that will be pro-rated.

The trustee sought to have the proposal approved by the High Court on September 7.

However, Justice Rampersad sought a short adjournment to consider filings/appeals made by former FIFA vice president Jack Warner, former TT men’s coach Terry Fenwick and sports marketer Peter Miller.

At a hearing on Monday, attorneys Bronock Reid and Kiev Chesney, representing Fenwick and Miller respectively, agreed to the trustee’s proposal to have the invalidated portions of their claims set aside and placed in a trust, pending the final determination of their appeal hearings.

The funds that will be set aside will be allocated from the US$3.5 million financial instrument.

And, on Wednesday, at the substantive hearing before Justice Rampersad, Warner, through his attorney Rekha Ramjit, withdrew their matters and the proposal was approved.

The trustee will now work with the normalisation committee and the proposal’s financiers to prepare the payments to the validated creditors under the guidelines of the Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act and the terms approved by the creditors.

A TTFA statement on Wednesday night said the judge’s decision “granted a new lease on life” for the TTFA.

In March 2020, the FIFA Council suspended the TTFA with immediate effect due to grave violations of the FIFA Statutes. The decision came after a FIFA/Concacaf fact-finding mission to TT to assess, together with an independent auditor, the financial situation of TTFA.

This found extremely low overall financial management methods, combined with massive debt, have resulted in the TTFA facing a very real risk of insolvency and illiquidity.

FIFA then appointed a normalisation committee, headed by Hadad, to run the TTFA'S daily affairs, establish an implementable debt repayment plan and to review and amend the TTFA Statutes (and other regulations where necessary) and to ensure their compliance with the FIFA Statutes and requirements.