THE FIFA-appointed normalisation committee, which oversees the affairs of the Trinidad and Tobago Football Association (TTFA), plans to review their audited financial statements for the year ended December 31, 2019 in the next two weeks.
The normalisation committee, headed by Robert Hadad, held their first-ever Annual General Meeting (AGM) since they were appointed in March 2021, after the previous executive, led by William Wallace, were removed due to mounting debts estimated at $50 million.
The AGM took place on Sunday, at 10 am, via the zoom online platform.
According to a media release, Hadad "addressed many of the challenges that the TTFA is faced with."
However, the items still to be resolved/discussed were the approval of the audited financial statements for the year ended December 31, 2019, expulsion of the Coaches Association, and the admission for membership – pursuant to the Unified Football Coaches of TT application.
"These items will be tabled at an Extraordinary General Meeting (EGM) to be held in 14 days," the media release said. "The members are tasked to review the 2019 financial statements in detail and understand the implications to the TTFA, and table all additional questions to the external auditors Madan Ramnarine and Company.
"Madan Ramnarine and Company, the Chartered Accounting firm, was appointed as the organisation’s external auditors in 2018 by the TTFA membership."
When contacted on the reason(s) why the TTFA were looking to review their audited financial statements for the year 2019 instead of 2020, Amiel Mohammed, acting general secretary of the TTFA, responded, "It was announced to the membership that, as the auditors were now properly approved for the year ending 2020, those auditors will now begin their work expeditiously. We would (then) convene an extraordinary general meeting right thereafter to have those approved.
Asked if the extraordinary general meeting planned for mid-October will deal with the 2019 audited reports, Mohammed replied, "Correct. The idea behind it is that, in 14 days, the financial (statements) for 2019 would be put to the membership.
"We're hoping by early 2022, we would be able to host an extraordinary general meeting to approve the 2020 ones."
The media release pointed out that, during the 2018 AGM, the TTFA membership attempted to expel the Coaches Associations from the membership based on inactivity/dormancy. However, this motion was not properly executed as per the TTFA Constitution, and will now to be addressed at the forthcoming EGM.
Hadad was quoted in the media release as saying, “If we really wish to rebuild football in this country, then we must embrace the debt crisis as the entire membership’s problem. It is an unprecedented problem, but it is a problem that we all share.
"The issues have been aired, improvements in governance outlined, the need for fundraising and debt repayment stated – let us work together to restore this fractured association.”
