T&T Football

Hadad happy to pass the reins; says TTFA in good place to move forward

By Sports Desk April 16, 2024
Newly-elected TTFA President Kieron Edwards (left) and Chair of Normalisation Committee, Robert Hadad. Newly-elected TTFA President Kieron Edwards (left) and Chair of Normalisation Committee, Robert Hadad. File

Robert Hadad, chairman of the Normalisation Committee, expressed satisfaction with the way in which they steered the Trinidad and Tobago Football Association (TTFA), and is now happy that they turned over the reins to newly-elected president Kieron Edwards and his administration.

Hadad, who was on hand when Edwards and his Team Progressive topped Colin Wharfe 38-19 at the recent TTFA's elections and Extraordinary Congress in Couva, is now delighted to move on with his personal life, having done enough for football in the twin island republic for the past four years.

Edward's administration is the first self-governed TTFA in more than four years. This as William Wallace's administration was removed months after being elected in November 2019, as FIFA intervened and installed the Hadad-chaired Normalisation Committee in March 2020, citing financial concerns.

“I have no intention of doing anything more. I am quite happy to move on with my personal life. I love fishing, I love the outdoors, and I’m going to continue in my quest for some personal, private time, without anything hanging over my head, like football," Hadad declared.

That said, the local businessman, whose four years in charge was to oversee the liquidation of a multi-million TTFA debt that stood for decades, believed he did his best to complete the mandate given to him by FIFA.

“I was very satisfied with what we were able to achieve. I think that the last four years have brought us (to) a better place and I’m content with that. I don’t think I can please everybody, and I don’t think I will ever please everybody," he said.

“The Association, I would think, they are in a pretty good place. The Association is debt free, save an except for the financial arrangement with FIFA which will be paid off over the next ten years. The rest of it is up to Mr Edwards now and the membership, to take football forward,” Hadad added.

While applauding the large turnout of TTFA delegates at Saturday's elections, Hadad, whose four years in charge was to oversee the liquidation of a multi-million TTFA debt that stood for decades, expressed optimism that football will not only move forward, but more importantly, impact lives enough to assist in decreasing the crime rate.

“I’d like to congratulate the TTFA members. I think they were very professional coming out in their numbers, 100% attendance. The normalisation process is completed," Hadad said, adding that debtors had been paid, with the exception of disputed matters involving Englishmen Terry Fenwick and Peter Miller, which are before the local courts.

“There are two matters before the court and those matters have to be resolved. The trustee Maria Daniel will continue working to bring those matters to a close,” he noted.

Meanwhile, Edwards praised Hadad and his Normalisation Committee for the work done.

“The Normalisation Committee played a crucial role in Trinidad and Tobago football. We need to understand that, and we need to acknowledge the service they would have given to Trinidad and Tobago football," the new TTFA president shared.

Tags
« Kieron Edwards to lead new TTFA administration Former Soca Warrior Hislop endorses Edwards to steer TTFA back to glory days; hopes to see T&T at World Cup »

Related items

  • Israel 1-4 France: Rampant Bleus clinch back-to-back Nations League wins Israel 1-4 France: Rampant Bleus clinch back-to-back Nations League wins

    France made it back-to-back wins in the Nations League, with Christopher Nkunku and Bradley Barcola among the scorers as they thrashed Israel 4-1 in Hungary.

    Playing at a neutral venue in Budapest's Bozsik Arena, France flew out of the traps as Israel goalkeeper Omri Glazer let Eduardo Camavinga's strike squirm past him in the sixth minute.

    Israel did draw level midway through the first half as Omri Gandelman headed Oscar Gloukh's cross home, but they were on terms for less than five minutes as Chelsea forward Nkunku flicked the ball through Ilay Feingold's legs before slotting a low finish into the far corner.

    Randal Kolo Muani twice went close to extending France's lead before Matteo Guendouzi gave them breathing space in the 87th minute, rolling a finish beyond Glazer and into the bottom corner.

    Didier Deschamps' men added further gloss to the scoreline two minutes later, Guendouzi finding a similar position, but this time opting to pick out Barcola for a curled finish.

    The result sees France move onto six points in Group A2, one adrift of Italy – who beat them on matchday one. They face Belgium next time out on Monday.

    Data Debrief: New-look Bleus sparkle

    With Kylian Mbappe absent due to a niggling injury and Antoine Griezmann retiring from international football, Deschamps fielded a new-look frontline of Nkunku, Kolo Muani, Ousmane Dembele and Michael Olise.

    Recording 33 touches in the area to Israel's five, and 15 shots to their opponents' one, France certainly impressed.

    Kolo Muani was a particular bright spark despite not getting on the scoresheet, with his four chances created being at least twice as many as any other player (Theo Hernandez laid on two).

  • Haaland becomes Norway's record scorer with Slovenia brace Haaland becomes Norway's record scorer with Slovenia brace

    Erling Haaland became Norway's all-time leading scorer with a brace in their 3-0 victory over Slovenia.

    The Manchester City striker was captaining his first nation for the first time, and marked the occasion in trademark record-breaking fashion.

    Haaland broke the deadlock after just seven minutes of the Nations League clash at the Ullevaal Stadium, where Alexander Sorloth doubled the lead seven minutes after the restart.

    Sorloth then turned provider just after the hour mark for Haaland, who broke Jorgen Juve's 87-year record with his 34th international goal in just 36 caps.

    The result put Norway firmly in charge of Group B3 with seven points, three ahead of Austria and Slovenia, with Kazakhstan propping up the table on one point.

  • England 1-2 Greece: Pavlidis ends Carsley's perfect start with stunning brace England 1-2 Greece: Pavlidis ends Carsley's perfect start with stunning brace

    Vangelis Pavlidis' dramatic 94th-minute winner brought Lee Carsley's perfect start to life as interim England coach crashing to a halt, as the Benfica forward netted twice in a stunning 2-1 win at Wembley. 

    Pavlidis danced through the Three Lions' static defence to give Greece a shock lead early in the second half, only for Jude Bellingham to fire home a leveller in the 87th minute.

    But England struggled to find their groove with captain Harry Kane out injured, and after Greece had three goals disallowed, they could have few complaints when Pavlidis took advantage of a defensive mix-up to score a famous winner deep into stoppage time.

    England's willingness to throw men forward allowed Greece plenty of opportunities in the first half, and only a spectacular goal-line clearance from Levi Colwill prevented the visitors from going ahead when Anastasios Bakasetas lobbed Jordan Pickford.

    Pickford was then arguably fortunate to win a foul when his missed punch led to Konstantinos Mavropanos nodding the resulting corner in, before Cole Palmer fired off-target from a great position at the other end.

    Anthony Gordon headed Trent Alexander-Arnold's cross over shortly before half-time, but Greece continued to threaten and got their reward four minutes after the restart.

    Receiving the ball with three white shirts surrounding him in a crowded penalty area, Pavlidis showed great feet to retain possession before slotting his finish beyond Pickford.

    Pavlidis was denied a second goal by the offside flag seven minutes from time, and England drew level just four minutes later, with Bellingham's side-footed finish packing too much power for Odysseas Vlachodimos in the Greece goal.

    There was to be one final twist, though, as England's hapless defence missed multiple chances to clear their lines in the 94th minute, allowing Pavlidis to take possession and fire into the bottom-left corner to spark wild celebrations among the Greek fans. 

    Data Debrief: Wembley woes ancient history for Greece

    Prior to Thursday, Greece had never scored at Wembley and had failed to beat England in nine competitive meetings (two draws, seven losses), being shut out on seven occasions.

    But they showed no fear on a memorable night in London, beating a team ranked in the world's top five by FIFA for the first time since overcoming France en route to their stunning success at Euro 2004.

    While Lee Carsley fell short of becoming the first England boss since Fabio Capello (in October 2008) to win his first three competitive matches in charge, Greece claimed a huge scalp on an emotional night, one day after the tragic death of full-back George Baldock. 

back to top
© 2024 SportsMaxTV All Rights Reserved.