TTFA Lives! Debt repayment proposal approved
TTFA LIVES! DEBT REPAYMENT PROPOSAL APPROVED
The Trinidad and Tobago Football Association (TTFA) was granted a new lease on life on
September 28, 2022 after the Honourable Justice Devindra Rampersad approved the
Association’s debt repayment proposal filed under the Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act (BIA).
This decision will allow the TTFA to begin dispensing payments to its creditors, some of whom,
have been owed for more than a decade.
Commenting on the landmark approval, TTFA Normalization Committee Chairman Robert
Hadad stated, “I am grateful. We look forward to finally paying the debts that have crippled
the Association for many years.
“This is another milestone along the path to fully remediating football and we will continue
to work on completing this process. I would like to thank the Trustee and her legal team and
the TTFA staff for their efforts in helping us to reach this significant milestone.”
On November 8, 2021, the TTFA notified the Supervisor of Insolvency of its intent to make a
proposal under the Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act (2007) of Trinidad and Tobago, which
would enable the restructuring of the TTFA using a fair, transparent and acceptable process
to address the Association’s long-standing debt.
The process, which was managed by Licensed Independent Trustee, Maria Daniel, allowed
the TTFA to manage its operations and provide a stay from all legal proceedings and creditor
actions for a period of up to 6 months.
On May 5, 2022, the Trustee held a meeting of the TTFA’s creditors at the Home of Football,
Couva, under the chairmanship of the Supervisor of Insolvency, where she outlined the
process that she and her team undertook to validate creditor claims and work with the TTFA
Normalization Committee to develop the proposal.
At this meeting, the proposal which would be funded via an interest free US$3.5 million
financial instrument, was approved unanimously by the creditors whereby validated creditors
owed up to TT$200,000.00 will be paid in full and balances above that will be pro-rated.
The Trustee sought to have the proposal approved by the Court on September 7, 2022.
However, Justice Rampersad sought a short adjournment to consider filings/appeals made by
former FIFA Vice President Jack Warner, former T&T national coach Terry Fenwick and sports
marketer Peter Miller.
At a hearing held on September 26, 2022, the attorneys Bronock Reid and Kiev Chesney
representing Fenwick and Miller respectively, agreed to the Trustee’s proposal to have the
invalidated portions of their claims set aside and placed in trust, pending the final
determination of their appeal hearings. The funds that will be set aside will be allocated from
the US$3.5 million financial instrument.
Two days later, at the substantive hearing before Justice Rampersad, Warner through his attorney Rekha Ramjit, withdrew their matters and the proposal was approved.
The Trustee will now work with the Normalization Committee and the proposal’s financiers to prepare the payments to the validated creditors under the guidelines of the BIA and the
terms approved by the creditors.
