The appointment of T&T Super League (TTSL) president Keith Look Loy to the board of the T&T Football Association (TTFA) could take centre stage when today’s reconvened annual general meeting (AGM) of the TTFA is held at the National Cycling Centre (NCC) in Balmain, Couva.
A member of the board, speaking to Guardian Media Sports on condition of anonymity, said that TTFA president David John-Williams, who is also chairman at the AGM, is set to argue that the election of the TTSL’s representative Look-Loy was illegal, as he believes there was no quorum when the November 25 reconvened meeting took place on December 23 last year, and it did not have the presence of the chairman due to ill health.
The TTFA president received the backings of Zvonimir Boban, the FIFA deputy general secretary, who in a response to a letter from John-Williams, said in his written response last last week, “According to the information reported in your letter, we deem that the decisions to reconvene the General Meetings of December 9, 2017 and March 17, 2018 would appear to have been in line with the relevant provisions of the TTFA Statutes, as on both occasions the quorum was not achieved 30 minutes after the scheduled start of the meetings. Furthermore, we also underline that since the election of a member of the TTFA board of directors is on the agenda, a quorum will be required at the next duly convened general meeting.”
Reports emerging from the last reconvened meeting on March 17 stated the lack of a quorum to discuss the critical matter of the TTFA’s audited financial statement, led John-Williams to adjourn the meeting, though his association’s constitution stated otherwise.
Only last week Osmond Downer, considered an expert on T&TFA constitutional interpretations, explained that for a reconvened meeting, an adjournment was only necessary when dealing with election or dismissal of an officer or officers.
John-Williams in his letter to FIFA pointed out, “If a quorum is not achieved 30 minutes after the scheduled start of the general meeting, the general meeting shall be reconvened 14 days later at the same place or at a venue notified by the general secretary at least seven days prior to the meeting date.”
He added, “Article 24 par. 3 of the TTFA Statutes reads -A quorum is not required for the second meeting of the general meeting unless any item on the agenda proposes the amendment of the constitution, the election of a member of the board of directors, the dismissal of a member of a body of TTFA, the expulsion of a Member or the dissolution of TTFA.”
It means today’s AGM will require a quorum, a minimum of 25 members out of a total of 49, which is still likely to pose a challenge due to the reluctance of delegates to show at meetings.
Meanwhile, John-Williams could be in for a surprise with delegates planning to move a motion and reappoint Look Loy as the TTSL representative, if it becomes an issue. Apart from Look Loy, Sam Phillip who resigned as chairman of the T&T Pro League three weeks ago, was also elected as pro league representative at the December 23 meeting.
Contacted Look Loy assured he was legally elected, as the December 23 meeting did have a quorum.
“It was adjourned only because there was no one to address the financial matters,” Look Loy explained.
He believes John-Williams is attempting to remove him because of his willingness to oppose the wrongdoings in the management of the sport.
The former FC Santa Rosa coach is promising that if John-Williams attempts to adjourn the meeting for yet another time, he will rally other delegates to vote for a chairman to ensure the meeting goes on according to the constitution.
He believes Boban’s call for a quorum Saturday is based on inaccurate information fed to him by the president.
Look Loy is also set to raise concerns about approval granted by the TTFA to host two Caribbean Football Union (CFU) women’s tournaments next month and another in May.
WALTER ALIBEY
