PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad – Players, coaches, and administrative staff of the Trinidad & Tobago Football Association (TTFA) will have a Merry Christmas after all.
This follows the settling of outstanding salary payments that date back to March this year by the normalization committee appointed by the sport’s World governing body, FIFA, to manage the TTFA’s affairs.
The normalization committee inherited a debt of over TT $50 million (the U.S. $7,353,150), and the committee has been working to reduce the financial burden on the association.
Media reports indicate that players and contract coaches were paid in full, staff coaches have received half of the sums owed, and admin staff has been paid their salaries up to the end of November.
Men’s national team defender Daniel Cyrus praised the normalization committee, headed by T&T business executive Robert Hadad, to keep its word to pay before Christmas Day.
“I am happy to see some of the players receive this money because it is close to Christmas where you have a family and everything (to take care of),” he told the T&T Newsday newspaper.
“I spoke to Hadad, and I asked him if I could hold him to his word, and he said, ‘Yes.’ Most of us had a conversation, and he lived up to his word, so I respect him full 100 (percent) for this.”
Last month, FIFA lifted its suspension on the TTFA following an eight-month court battle to appoint the normalization committee and remove the incumbent executive, led by William Wallace.
The lifting of the suspension meant that T&T men’s and women’s national teams of all ages were cleared again to take part in regional and international competitions.
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