Can the CFU help TTFA?
CAN the Caribbean Football Union (CFU), which came into existence in 1978 and was set up to look after the interests of the member associations in the region, help out the Trinidad and Tobago Football Association (TTFA)?
It appears to be highly unlikely.
The present situation between the TTFA and FIFA is at a delicate stage.
One wonders if the CFU could help out its member association, but the political power that they once had under the once most powerful man in Caribbean football, Anthony “Jack” Warner, has been diminished since 2012.
The chain of the football command is clear, and FIFA, despite their own challenges with Sepp Blatter, Michel Platini and Jack Warner, are still at the top of the hierarchy of the game and once it reaches there, then the CFU has little say.
Under the Presidency of the now banned “Jack” Warner, the CFU set about organising competitions at both the youth and senior levels. Always cash-strapped as they never really attracted big name sponsors for any long term, they depended on the governing body of FIFA.
It was over these years that Warner used the office of the CFU to help promote individual referees, match commissioners and even place CFU members on committees of CONCACAF and in some cases even FIFA.
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To his credit, many sports administrators and officials benefitted while he was in office.
The CFU, under Warner, recorded one of the world’s most bizarre games. In January 1994, a new football rule was introduced by the CFU, which was used in the then Shell Caribbean Cup.
The game in question saw Barbados defeating Grenada in Bridgetown when Terry Sealy put a ball into his own net to level the scores at 2-2 and force extra time. In extra time, the new rule stated that a golden goal would count as two goals, giving Barbados the goal difference they needed.
The game was described by losing Grenada coach James Clarkeson as a mockery of the game.
However, the most damaging things to the CFU came when an investigation unearthed a number of issues. The CFU’s image came crashing down in 2011, as there were 11 Caribbean football leaders and two CFU staffers who were found guilty in the corruption scandal relating to Mohamed bin Hammam’s bid during the FIFA elections.
The whole Caribbean region was slapped with an image that turned so sour that the footballing world simply turned a blind eye to anything happening in this part of the world.
The members that make up the CFU after Warner’s departure had to try and move heaven and earth to restore the credibility of the CFU.
With this history, the voice of the CFU no longer carries the weight it once did.
The footballing eyes of the world are closely following the TTFA situation as it is hoped that another scandal does not come out of this present chaos in the land that has produced a World Cup team and some of the best footballers the region has ever seen… and there are many.