The TTFA (Trinidad and Tobago Football association) has been suspended by the Bureau of FIFA council. This in light of the recent case involving the TTFA after its failure to comply with a request to withdraw a legal case brought against the global football body and currently before the courts of Trinidad and Tobago.
In a letter by the the Bureau of the FIFA Council, the TTFA has been revoked of their membership rights and will no longer be allowed to send representatives or football clubs to take part in international competitions pending the removal of the suspensions on the association. The case was brought by deposed members of the former TTFA executive, who took issue with FIFA’s appointment of a normalization committee which would have been used to govern the nation’s football affairs.
As a result of this action, the suspension was prompted by the former leadership of the TTFA lodging a claim before a local court in Trinidad and Tobago in order to contest the decision of the FIFA Council to appoint a normalization committee for the TTFA. This was in direct breach of article 59 of the FIFA Statutes, which expressly prohibits recourse to ordinary courts unless specifically provided for in the FIFA regulations. The relevant parties were then given until 16 September to withdraw the case but failed to do so. The deadline was then extended to September 23, to which the TTFA did not respect.
Following the circumstantial issue, the FIFA Council has also repudiated the TTFA’s benefits from training, courses and development programs put on by the Confederation of North, Central American and Caribbean Association Football (CONCACAF). According to Fifa secretary general Fatma Samoura, the decision was made in accordance with article 16 of the Fifa Statutes. Samoura spelt out the cost to the Soca Warriors and warned the global body’s other 209 active member associations to steer clear of Trinidad and Tobago.
Secretary-General of FIFA, Fatma Samoura
“Consequently, the TTFA loses all its membership rights, as defined in article 13 of the Fifa Statutes, with immediate effect,” revealed Samoura. “TTFA representative and club teams are therefore no longer entitled to take part in international competitions until the suspension is lifted. The secretary has since advised Fifa member associations and their affiliates to not enter into any sporting contact with the TTFA and/or its teams while the association is suspended. The TTFA has not yet seemed to have a response to the suspension terms since then.
