TTFA elections showdown: Wharfe vs Edwards for presidency

A new era in local football administration is set to begin on April 13 when the TT Football Association (TTFA) hosts its elections for the first time since 2019.

The elections will be held at the Home of Football in Couva at 11am.

The two men vying to take over as TTFA president are TT Premier Football League CEO Colin Wharfe (Team Transformation) and Eastern FA president Kieron Edwards (Team Progressive).

“Everything is running according to plan for the electoral process,” TTFA general secretary Amiel Mohammed said on April 12.

In March 2020, the then William Wallace-led TTFA executive was removed by FIFA, who appointed a normalisation committee after they found extremely low overall financial management methods, massive debt and a high risk of insolvency .

The normalisation committee's tenure has had mixed reviews with many disgruntled by the lack of transparency with some of the decision making. On the field, the results at most levels have not gone according to plan.

Edwards was confident when Newsday spoke to him on April 12, “I feel like I did my best and I’ve put in the work. It’s now up to the members to decide, and they’ve told me that they’re supporting Team Progressive.”

If elected he plans to begin unifying the membership immediately.

“Give thanks to the Almighty, as well as the normalisation committee who have dedicated their time to football. I know that not 100 per cent would vote in my favour so I’ll call for a meeting with all members and stakeholders to unite everyone and have a discussion about the plans. Then it would be talking to FIFA and Concacaf about the upcoming programmes that we currently have.”

Edwards believes after serving as the Eastern Football Association president for a number of years, the time is right to run for the TTFA president.

“I thought it was the right time to throw my hat in the ring to assist TT football. My main reason for running (TTFA presidency) was to unify and lead the membership like I’ve been doing for some time.”

He said his understanding of football and development augurs well if elected, going into a World Cup qualifying year.

Newsday was unable to speak to Wharfe on April 12 as he was too busy.

Wharfe in February said he felt “compelled to seize the opportunity to lead an expanded team which will propel TT football.

“I fervently believe that football can be a driver of societal engagement and national transformation, at a time when multi-faceted approaches are needed.”

On the election process, Mohammed said, “The TTFA will be hosting an extraordinary congress.

“It is such that all the members of the TTFA had to communicate their delegates in advance of the meeting. The process is governed by the TTFA statutes and TTFA electoral code. The election of the executive committee is the only substantive item on the agenda. The process from there is similar to the general elections and voting is done by secret ballot.”

All 12 teams that took part in the inaugural season of the TTPFL as well as the top six in TTPFL tier two – excluding Police FC (who have a team in tier one) – will all be afforded two votes in the election.

Each of the six regional associations and the TT Women’s League Football also have two votes.

The remaining associations such as beach soccer, coaches, futsal, referees, the Primary and Secondary Schools Football Leagues and the Veterans Footballers Foundation of Trinidad and Tobago have one vote each.

The normalisation committee announced a three-man independent team to oversee the elections. These men are: Dr Terrence Farrell, a renowned economist and former deputy governor of the Central Bank, Elton Prescott SC, an attorney and former independent senator and Dr Justin Koo, a senior lecturer and deputy dean at the University of the West Indies.

The slates for the TTFA presidential election:

Team Progressive: president Kieron Edwards, first vice-president Colin Murray, second vice-president Osmond Downer, third vice-president Jameson Rigues, and ordinary members Alicia Austin, Inspector Andrew Boodhoo, Allan Logan, Ryan Nunes, and Shelton Williams.

Team Transformation: president Colin Wharfe, first vice-president Colonel Keston Charles, second vice-president Renee John-Williams, third vice-president Huey Cadette, and ordinary members Riaz Ali, Lee Davis, Colm De Freitas, Makan Hislop, and Richard Mason.