Former Trinidad and Tobago Football Association president David John-Williams will now return to his business and football club W Connection, after losing his position as leader of an association he handed its own home after more than 100 years without one.
He had a sombre look on his face after the majority of the 47 voters who participated in yesterday’s TTFA Annual General Meeting (AGM) and Election of officers at the Home of Football in Balmain, Couva, opted to gave William Wallace, president of the United TTFA, the chance to manage the affairs of the sport for the next four years following a 26-20 result.
Wallace says he has commitments from several local and international sponsors to assist the association, which is in a financial hole and also has new plans to take football forward.
As he departed from the venue yesterday, John-Williams wished the new administrators of football and T&T football the best of luck. However, he said it’s left to be seen how the country’s football will move on from here.
Before he pulled out from the Home of Football, John William told reporters he will now move on with his life having done what he had to do.
“I have given it my best shot and I will now move on,” John-Williams said.
Quizzed as to why he felt he was not successful at the polls, John-Williams said, “It’s difficult to say. Secret ballot and people made their choices. I have my business to run, I have my club to run and maybe W Connection now can get my full attention.”
The embattled former football association president, who was accused of lacking transparency and accountability, among other things, during his four-year tenure, said he did not have any advice for the new administration.
“I will not advocate any advice for the winner. They maybe have their, what they want to do and their plans and I wish them all the best.”
Meanwhile, AC Port-of-Spain technical and business development director Michael Awai said the victory for the United TTFA means his clubs will lose US$108,000, which will put them in a position to have to look for the difference of between $700,000 and $450,000 to start with. The amount would have been part of the funding clubs would have received as part of a club development drive John-Williams had advocated during his campaign for the presidency.
“Every other club will have that problem. I think that we will have to wait and see what Mr Wallace and his crew, including the Nike funding he says he has, and all the other things. We can’t diss him, we just have to wait and see what he says,” Awai said.
He added, “The only way to change in football is development, nothing else. We have a building now—the Home of Football, you can’t take that away from David John-Williams, that’s his legacy.
“But saying that, we are depending on money from Nike and money from whoever else to help the football is one thing, but it’s another thing to have the development in place, because that’s what was missing, in my mind, in John-Williams’ tenure, the development of the football, which is why we suffered on the field of play.”