THE FIFA-appointed normalisation committee of the TT Football Association (TTFA) fired men’s national team coach Terry Fenwick and his two assistants Derek King and Kelvin Jack on Friday.
Following King and Jack’s dismissals on Friday morning, uncertainty surrounded Fenwick’s future at the helm of TT football.
However, in a statement issued by acting TTFA general secretary Amiel Mohammed at 6.40 pm on Friday, the local governing body has opted to part ways with the English-born Fenwick, who alongside King and Jack, were appointed to lead the team back in January 2020.
The statement said, “The normalisation committee of the TTFA served notice of termination to senior men’s national team head coach Terry Fenwick.
“Additionally, the normalisation committee has mutually parted company with King and is finalising same with Jack.”
It continued, “Given the financial situation of the TTFA which threatens its ability to fund the coaches at the salary levels that were committed, the (normalisation committee) has met with King and Jack and have come to a mutually agreed position.”
With less than three weeks to go before the start of TT’s 2021 Concacaf Gold Cup quest against Montserrat on July 2, the TTFA will now prioritise its appointment of an interim coach together with a coaching staff next week ahead of the tournament’s preliminary round match.
A selection panel led by normalisation committee member Nicholas Gomez and comprising Anton Corneal, Anthony Sherwood and Richard Chinapoo will meet to finalise the selection of the interim TT men's coach. The temporary coach together with the panel will then establish the supporting team for the forthcoming qualifiers.
Fenwick told Newsday, on Friday morning, that resigning was out of the question given his undefeated tournament record (two wins, two draws) as TT coach. Fenwick lost his lone international friendly 7-0 against the US on January 31.
The dismissals of Fenwick and his assistants comeson the heels of TT missing out on qualifying for the second round of Concacaf qualifiers to the 2022 FIFA World Cup.
TT won their opening Group F game against Guyana 3-0, drew 1-1 against Puerto Rico and 0-0 against Bahamas and then beat St Kitts/Nevis 2-0 in their final match. If TT had won the group, they would have advanced to next round of Concacaf qualifying.
However, TT (ranked 103 on the FIFA rankings) displayed a toothless effort against the Bahamians (ranked 201) last Saturday and handed the hosts their only point of the qualifiers.
Hours before the Bahamas match, there was also an incident between Jack and uncapped TT player Gary Griffith III at the team’s camp in Nassau. Griffith III is the son of the nation’s Commissioner of Police Gary Griffith.
[caption id="attachment_894783" align="alignnone" width="1024"] Kelvin Jack (right) and Derek King look on during a TT men's football team training session at the Thomas Robinson Stadium, Nassau, Bahamas in June 2021. PHOTO COURTESY T
