PROSPECTIVE TT Football Association (TTFA) presidential candidate Denis Latiff says the general feeling among the TTFA membership is one of relief following the confirmation of the April 13 date for the elections of the new TTFA executive.
Latiff said he has as good a chance as any at winning the upcoming TTFA presidential race, and he believes he and his team have what it takes to bring back corporate TT into the local football landscape after many aspects of the local game received insufficient attention under the Fifa-appointed normalisation committee.
On Tuesday, TTFA general secretary Amiel Mohammed confirmed the election date to the TTFA membership, with the new TTFA executive committee set to be instituted at an extraordinary congress. Potential candidates for the nine executive committee positions must confirm their candidature to the TTFA general secretariat for the respective posts on or before February 28. The TTFA general secretariat must then disseminate the official list of candidates to the TTFA membership by April 3.
Latiff, president of the Southern Football Association (SFA), has indicated his desire to contest for the presidential post, alongside Veterans Football Foundation of TT (VFFoTT) president Selby Browne and Eastern Football Association (EFA) president Kieron Edwards. On Tuesday, Mohammed told Newsday, “Technically, I have received no formal communication from anybody (regarding the TTFA presidency).”
Speaking to Newsday on Wednesday, Latiff said he was in the process of finalising his nine-member slate and submitting his nomination to the TTFA. Last week, Browne told Newsday he and his team will launch their campaign and manifesto after a meeting with the VFFoTT executive after the Carnival season.
“Everybody is glad for the election date,” Latiff told Newsday. “Whatever it means to them, everybody has a sense of relief. I am feeling pretty good about the election.”
With the election date now confirmed, the normalisation committee, which was appointed by Fifa in March 2020, has received an extension to April 30 at the latest to fulfill Fifa’s mandate.
“We are working to get this together now. We are coming strong. It is about time we get football back where it needs to be. The normalisation committee did not do anything for football itself. They were just being told what to do,” said the Tiger Tanks CEO.
“They did not look at a wide range of necessities for TT football. Fifa just told them to do this and do that, and that was it. But many people have suffered. The teams have suffered. Many of the members have had disagreements. The zones have not been helped at all.”
Latiff said TT’s football cannot maximise its potential if the football at the grassroots and regional level is not given the respect and attention it deserves.
“We must help the zones. That is where the footballers are coming from. You will not produce good footballers if you do not have the necessary tools like coaching and funding to host tournaments,” Latiff said.
“It is difficult. I am the head o
