Dexter Skeene, chief executive officer of the T&T Pro League, is looking forward to continuing his working relationship with the T&T Football Association (T&TFA), which is now under the leadership of W Connection president David John-Williams.
With the new football association president, Skeene intends to improve the standard of football across T&T and help this country qualify for World Cup tournaments on a regular basis.
John-Williams got the nod for the position of president of an embattled football association at the Annual General Meeting (AGM) and Election of Officers on Sunday last at the VIP Lounge of the Hasely Crawford Stadium, Mucurapo.
Skeene said: “The TT Pro League has always maintained a cordial relationship with the T&TFA and we expect it to continue.
“The league wishes to thank all those who contributed in the past, such as Raymond Tim Kee, for implementing a democratic process for free and fair elections and for his support of the TT Pro League.
“In fact, with the implementation of the new constitution, the Pro League as a member of the board, would have the opportunity to make a direct contribution to the decision-making process. The interaction with the other associations would allow for efficient coordination of scheduling of different programmes.”
Key among the constitutional changes is a two-term limit for presidents, which means he/she can only occupy the office of president for a maximum of eight years.
This amendment in the constitution brought an end to the previous practice in which administrators could have been in office for an unlimited amount of time.
The new constitution also meant that major clubs play a part in the decision-making process in T&T.
Only recently, Luca Nicolas, FIFA manager of Member Association, pointed out that the world governing body for football was happy to see the major changes in the statutes of the T&TFA where decisions on the future of football were made by the regional associations and other interest groups.
Now he said the statutes are a proper representation of decision-making in T&T football which are now made by the clubs, the regional associations, the Super League and the interest groups.
From this system, the TT Pro League has ten votes and the Super League has eight. Each regional association has three votes.
John-Williams defeated the incumbent Raymond Tim Kee 25 votes to 19 in the second round of voting.
Tim Kee, who is also Mayor of Port-of-Spain, had been hoping for a second term to finish the job he started four years ago but saw the writing on the wall after the first round of voting which propelled John-Williams in front with 18 votes to Tim Kee’s 13.
Vice president of the T&T Referees Association Clynt Taylor was third on eight votes, while Selby Browne of the Veteran Football Federation (VFF) and Ramesh Ramdhan were eliminated after the first round by receiving only three votes each.
Pro League clubs North East Stars and Point Fortin Civic failed to show up for the election process and there was no representation for the Coaches and Players Associations.
John-Williams’ elevation to president was followed by the election of his slate to run the affairs of T&T football. They are first vice president Ewing Davis; second vice president Joanne Salazar and third vice president Allan Warner.
The Board of Directors of the T&TFA was also chosen, they are Samuel Saunders (Central FA), Sherwin Dyer (Eastern Counties Football Union), Karanjabari Williams (Northern FA), Richard Quan Chan (Southern FA), Anthony Moore (Tobago FA), Joseph Taylor (T&T Football Referees Association), Dexter Skeene (TT Pro League) and Sharon O’Brien (Women’s League Football).
Skeene also said: “On behalf of the TT Pro League, the Board of Directors wishes to congratulate Mr John-Williams on being elected as the president of the T&TFA. The board wishes him every success in his term in office and look forward to working with the T&TFA to improve the standard of football and to help T&T qualify for World Cups regularly.
“The Board is aware of David’s commitment to the TT Pro League, W Connection and football in general over the years and we know that he would take that same enthusiasm and diligence into the T&TFA’s office as president.”
