Former FIFA vice-president Jack Warner has appealed to Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar to come to the aid of former president of the Trinidad and Tobago Football Federation Oliver Camps, who he claims is in debt and stands to lose his home.
In a release yesterday, following Government’s $1.3 million payout to the 2006 Soca Warriors, Warner called on the Prime Minister to intervene and save Camps’ home. Camps was president at the time of T&T’s World Cup qualification for the 2006 World Cup in Germany.
“If the Prime Minister really wants to demonstrate that this is truly benevolence and not public relations to lift the flagging image of her Minister of Sport, then I wish to advise her to go further and save the home of Oliver Camps,” he stated.
“This group of footballers who played three matches in the 2006 World Cup in Germany and who never scored a goal nor win a match there and who now stand to benefit from the Prime Minister’s benevolent gesture received $20 million dollars from the Patrick Manning administration, $7 million from FIFA, $4 million from the TTFF, $6 million from Jack Warner through the courts of Trinidad and Tobago and now $1.3 million USD from the People’s Partnership Government; a total sum of close to $50 million dollars and this excludes gifts from private organisations like Clico and others,” claimed Warner.
He stated Camps too was in need of financial help.
Camps, he stated, served football with distinction for over 50 years as Trinidad and Tobago Football Federation (TTFF) president and team manager and was the “most successful football manager ever”, taking the Soca Warriors to the 2006 Germany World Cup.
Warner stated that Camps signed a promissory note of US$480,000 on behalf of the TTFF in order to procure the services of Wim Risenberg as coach of the national team.
“The TTFF has been unable to raise the money and now Al Roberts’ firm - father of the Minister of Sport, is now moving to levy on this senior citizen,” stated Warner.
“Mr. Camps’ home Madam Prime Minister is now threatened. If he cannot raise the money he will lose it by September 2014, if not before. In this regard I am therefore asking the Prime Minister to be as benevolent to Mr. Camps as she has been to these footballers and save the home of this senior citizen,” stated Warner.
On the money Government will be paying the Soca Warriors, Warner wished the team members well and stated that he hoped this would finally bring closure to the matter.
“It is my sincere wish that this is the end of this story and that the furniture and the archival material, which the TTFA lost when this team of footballers levied on the TTFF, will now be returned to it,” he added.