The Trinidad and Tobago Football Association (TTFA) is the governing body of
football
Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...
in
Trinidad and Tobago
Trinidad and Tobago (, ), officially the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, is the southernmost island country in the Caribbean. Consisting of the main islands Trinidad and Tobago, and numerous much smaller islands, it is situated south of ...
. It is based in
Port of Spain, Trinidad
Port of Spain (Spanish: ''Puerto España''), officially the City of Port of Spain (also stylized Port-of-Spain), is the capital of Trinidad and Tobago and the third largest municipality, after Chaguanas and San Fernando. The city has a municip ...
. It is a member of FIFA and is responsible for governing
amateur
An amateur () is generally considered a person who pursues an avocation independent from their source of income. Amateurs and their pursuits are also described as popular, informal, autodidacticism, self-taught, user-generated, do it yourself, DI ...
and
professional
A professional is a member of a profession or any person who works in a specified professional activity. The term also describes the standards of education and training that prepare members of the profession with the particular knowledge and skil ...
football and including the
men's and
women's
A woman is an adult female human. Prior to adulthood, a female human is referred to as a girl (a female child or adolescent). The plural ''women'' is sometimes used in certain phrases such as "women's rights" to denote female humans regardl ...
national teams. The TTFA is also responsible for sanctioning
referees
A referee is an official, in a variety of sports and competition, responsible for enforcing the rules of the sport, including sportsmanship decisions such as ejection. The official tasked with this job may be known by a variety of other titl ...
and
football tournaments for leagues in Trinidad and Tobago.
The association was known as the Trinidad and Tobago Football Federation (TTFF) between 1992 and 1 July 2013.
History
The first World Cup qualification campaign for the national team began in 1965 in preparation for the
1966 World Cup. The team failed to qualify after finishing last in their group in the First Round of qualification. However, in 1973, Trinidad and Tobago came within two points of qualifying for the
1974 World Cup in controversial fashion. Trinidad and Tobago lost a crucial game on 4 December 1973 against hosts Haiti 2–1 having five of their goals disallowed.
It was not until qualification for the
1990 World Cup that the national team would be in contention again. Needing only a draw to qualify in their final home game against the United States, Trinidad and Tobago's hopes were dashed by Paul Caligiuri who scored the game's only goal in the 38th minute to give the United States the last qualification spot for the World Cup.
Trinidad and Tobago qualified for the
2006 World Cup in Germany, its first-ever qualification for the tournament. They became the smallest country to qualify for the FIFA World Cup in 2006, succeeding Haiti for the title. In Germany, Trinidad and Tobago were grouped with
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
,
Sweden
Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...
and
Paraguay
Paraguay (; ), officially the Republic of Paraguay ( es, República del Paraguay, links=no; gn, Tavakuairetã Paraguái, links=si), is a landlocked country in South America. It is bordered by Argentina to the south and southwest, Brazil to th ...
in Group B. The team earned some international respect after a draw with Sweden in their opening game and managing to hold England scoreless for 83 minutes. Trinidad and Tobago finished with their first-ever point from World Cup play after finishing 0–1–2 for the tournament.
2006 World Cup players' bonus dispute
Following the
2006 World Cup, the national team was thrown into turmoil by a dispute between the players from the World Cup squad and the TTFF. Prior to the competition, the players had agreed to a bonus scheme with the TTFF, where the players would share 50% of the federation's income from the World Cup.
Following the competition, the TTFF declared the income and expenses of
TT$18.25 million and TT$17.97 million, respectively. This left TT$282,952 in net revenue and offered each player TT$5600, whereby the players rejected the offer. Subsequently, the TTFF revised their figure to TT$950,000. The amount the Federation received during their qualification campaign prior to the 2006 World Cup. The players also rejected the revised offer and requested to see the TTFF's unaudited accounts. The Federation refused the player's request.
The sixteen players were
Marvin Andrews
Marvin Andrews CM (born 22 December 1975) is a Trinidadian former professional footballer who played as a centre back.
Andrews's career includes spells at Livingston, with whom he won the Scottish League Cup in 2004, and Rangers, where he ...
,
Chris Birchall
Christopher Birchall CM (born 5 May 1984) is a former professional footballer who played as a midfielder. He scored 21 goals in 322 league and cup appearances in a 16-year professional career, and scored four goals in 44 international matches ...
,
Atiba Charles
David Atiba Charles CM (born 29 September 1977) is a Trinidadian former professional footballer who played as a defender for several clubs as well as the Trinidad and Tobago national team.
In 2006 he left W Connection to join Northern Irish ...
,
Ian Cox
Ian Gary Cox CM (born 25 March 1971) is a Trinidad and Tobago former professional footballer. Cox was most recently joint manager at Whitstable Town, a post he took up in November 2015. He was part of the Trinidad and Tobago national team' ...
,
Cornell Glen
Cornelius "Cornell" Glen CM (born 21 October 1981) is a Trinidadian former professional footballer who played as a forward.
Club career
Glen began his professional career in 1999 with Trinidadian club FUTGOF. After two years with FUTGOF, Gle ...
,
Cyd Gray
Cyd Gray CM (born 21 November 1976) is a former professional footballer from Trinidad and Tobago. He previously played as a defender for San Juan Jabloteh, as well as the islands' national team. He made his debut for the Soca Warriors against ...
,
Shaka Hislop
Neil Shaka Hislop CM (born 22 February 1969) is a retired footballer who played as a goalkeeper. Born in England, he played for them at under-21 level before representing Trinidad and Tobago at senior international level.
The majority of his ...
,
Kelvin Jack
Kelvin Kyron Jack CM (born 29 April 1976) is a Trinidadian former professional football goalkeeper who is goalkeeping coach at Dover Athletic. He earned 33 caps for Trinidad and Tobago between 1997 and 2006, playing for his country in the 2006 ...
,
Avery John
Emery Avery John CM (born 18 June 1975) is a Trinidad and Tobago former professional footballer who played as a defender.
Career
Youth and College
John was born in Point Fortin. He attended Vessigny ntillesGovernment Secondary School and ...
,
Stern John,
Kenwyne Jones
Kenwyne Joel Jones CM (born 5 October 1984) is a Trinidadian football manager and retired professional player who played as a forward. He currently manages the Trinidad and Tobago women's national team. He began his football career with Joe ...
,
Collin Samuel
Collin Andrew Samuel CM (born 27 August 1981) is a Trinidad and Tobago former professional footballer who played as a winger or striker. He represented Trinidad and Tobago at senior international level and played in the 2006 World Cup. He p ...
,
Brent Sancho
Brent Sancho CM (born 13 March 1977) is a Trinidadian former professional football player and politician. In February 2015, he became the Minister of Sports for his home country, Trinidad and Tobago.
Club career
College
Born in Port of Spa ...
,
Aurtis Whitley,
Evans Wise, and
Anthony Wolfe
Anthony Wolfe CM (born 23 December 1983) is a Trinidadian professional footballer who plays as a forward. He represented the Trinidad and Tobago national team on 35 occasions.
As a member of the squad that competed at the 2006 FIFA World Cu ...
. The players claim to have been blacklisted as none had been selected to represent the national team since a friendly against
Austria
Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...
in November 2006. The TTFF claimed that the decision was left to the coach,
Wim Rijsbergen
Wilhelmus "Wim" Gerardus Rijsbergen (; born 18 January 1952) is a Dutch football manager and former player who played as a defender. He was last the manager of Solomon Islands' national team.
Playing career
Rijsbergen was born in Leiden, So ...
.
On 30 June 2007, the players initiated a lawsuit against the TTFF. Following an August 2007 inquiry by their lawyers to the Trinidad and Tobago government under the Freedom of Information Act, it was revealed that the TTFF had understated its income by at least TT$173.5 million. This was not including a TT$32 million bonus paid by the government and television revenue from friendly matches played in Europe prior to the World Cup. As a result, the players were deprived of at least TT$6.5 million each.
Following the inquiry, the TTFF immediately lifted its ban on the players, and agreed to go to arbitration in
London
London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
rather than to court. On 18 May 2008, British arbitrator Ian Mill QC ruled that the Soca Warriors were entitled to 50% of the profits of the Federation obtained from 2006 World Cup qualifying, as well as friendlies prior to the World Cup. However, on 9 Jan 2009 the proceedings never progressed as the TTFF were no longer interested in arbitration hearings in London and shifted their dispute to the Port of Spain Higher Court. The TTFF argued that the change was due to lawyers representing the 16 players breached the confidentiality clause in comments made to a local newspaper and other international media houses. A hearing of the application to lift the order which prevents the Port of Spain High Court from hearing the case is expected on 16 June 2009.
In February 2011 the High Court ruled that an interim payment of US$100 be paid to the footballers. The judge also rejected the accounting documents submitted by the TTFF.
In August 2012, the Federation relocated to new offices in Woodbroke as a consequence of having its equipment seized in a court order relating to unpaid payments.
In March 2020, following 12 years of neglect, the digital presence of the TTFA was upgraded b
JellyBean Agencyand the TTFA transitioned away fro
ttfootball.org to thettfa.com a more modern and impactful statement of the Associations quest to grow digitally and embrace a new era of sports engagement.
The
FIFA Council
The FIFA Council (formerly the FIFA Executive Committee) is an institution of FIFA (the governing body of association football, futsal and beach football). It is the main decision-making body of the organization in the intervals of FIFA Congress. ...
suspended the TTFA on 24 September 2020 after the federation filed a claim in a local court against FIFA's decision to appoint a normalisation committee to reform the TTFA.
The FIFA Council lifted the membership suspension on 19 November 2020 after the federation agreed to terminate all legal court action being pursued against FIFA. This consequently led to all FIFA membership rights being reinstated; this includes the inclusion in international football tournaments.
It is estimated that there is currently an outstanding debt level at the TTFA of TT$500 million owing to both footballing creditors such as the men's national team, and to non-footballing creditors including the backroom staff. It is understood a number of sponsors such as Caribbean Chemicals, AVEC, and Digicel are owed vast amounts of money through undelivered sponsorship agreements.
Association staff
Associations affiliated with TTFA
Adult level
#
Trinidad and Tobago men's national football team
#
Trinidad and Tobago women's national football team
The Trinidad and Tobago women's national football team is commonly known in their country as the Women Soca Warriors. They are one of the top women's national football teams in the Caribbean region along with Jamaica and Haiti.
Trinidad & Toba ...
Youth teams
#Trinidad and Tobago U-23 men's national football team
#Trinidad and Tobago U-20 men's national football team
#
Trinidad and Tobago U-17 men's national football team
#Trinidad and Tobago U-15 men's national football team
#Trinidad and Tobago U-20 women's national football team
#Trinidad and Tobago U-19 women's national football team
#Trinidad and Tobago U-17 women's national football team
#Trinidad and Tobago U-15 women's national football team
Leagues and organizations
#
TT Pro League
The TT Pro League (formerly known as the Professional Football League) is the Trinidad and Tobago professional league for association football clubs. It is the country's primary football competition and serves as the top division in the Trinidad ...
#
National Super League
The National Super League is a league for semi-professional association football clubs in Trinidad and Tobago. It is the second-highest division of the Trinidad and Tobago football league system. The league currently comprises 19 teams between 2 l ...
#
TT Women's League Football
# Secondary Schools Football League
# Primary Schools Football League
# Trinidad and Tobago AYSO Youth League
# Veteran Footballers Assoc
#
Professional leagues
The
TT Pro League
The TT Pro League (formerly known as the Professional Football League) is the Trinidad and Tobago professional league for association football clubs. It is the country's primary football competition and serves as the top division in the Trinidad ...
is a first division football league in Trinidad and Tobago founded in 1999 and comprises eight teams. The Women's Football League is the top-level women's football league. It was established in 1986 and consists of 15 teams in two divisions, Premier and First.
The TTFF has also, since 1927, sponsored a nationwide tournament open to all TTFF affiliated clubs known as the
FA Trophy
The Football Association Challenge Trophy, commonly known as the FA Trophy, is a men's football knockout cup competition run by and named after the English Football Association and competed for primarily by semi-professional teams. The compet ...
.
See also
*
Trinidad and Tobago men's national football team
*
Trinidad and Tobago women's national football team
The Trinidad and Tobago women's national football team is commonly known in their country as the Women Soca Warriors. They are one of the top women's national football teams in the Caribbean region along with Jamaica and Haiti.
Trinidad & Toba ...
References
External links
Official WebsiteSoca Warriors Online, Flex Football Siteat FIFA website
Trinidad and Tobagoat CONCACAF site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Trinidad And Tobago Football Federation
CONCACAF member associations
Football in Trinidad and Tobago
Football
Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...
1908 establishments in Trinidad and Tobago
Sports organizations established in 1908