Boucher still questioning sale of World Cup tickets

Third Vice-President of the St Vincent and the Grenadines Football Federation (SVGFF) Elroy Paul Boucher is not easing up in his quest to get answers about the sale of SVGFF’s quota of tickets for the 2014 World Cup finals in Brazil.

Boucher, who was a guest on the Sports Highlights programme on Nice Radio {{more}}recently, cited operations of the SVGFF which he considered questionable and zoned in on the sale of said tickets.

Supporting documents obtained by SEARCHLIGHT reveal that Raymond Trimmingham, acting on behalf of the St Vincent and the Grenadines Football Federation, signed on June 8, 2014 to having received 200 tickets.

Other supporting documents show that on the same date, one Aaron Isley of ‘Universal’ gave details of the procedure to be followed in the sale of the tickets, in accordance with the Isley/Coombs agreement of February 16, 2014.

But Boucher is contending that the agreement was seemingly done with some level of autonomy, with president Venold Coombs being the main negotiator on the SVGFF’s behalf.

“FIFA regulations state that you cannot sell the tickets for more than 10 per cent profit … The Federation got its 10 per cent, which amounts to $93,450…How much were the tickets sold for?” Boucher demanded.

The SVGFF’s third vice-president also pointed to a piece of internal correspondence in which a request was made for Coombs to make available pertinent documents pertaining to the sale of the tickets.

This, Boucher related, was necessary for the 2014 Audit Report of the SVGFF.

“The question to be asked is… Why not release the document for audit purpose ….If everything was above board, then release the document … Let the auditor have the documents,” Boucher argued.

Boucher noted that the agreement for the sale of the World Cup tickets was signed on the letterhead of the SVGFF, hence making it the property of the organization.

He lamented that it was such practices, which affected “the repeated failure of the FIFA audit.”

Boucher outlined that the SVGFF was referred to the FIFA audit and compliance committee for its practices.

“FIFA has serious concerns with the accounts, adequate financial management of the FAP account,” Boucher added.

Coombs, on a previous programme, also on Nice Radio, in reference to the sale of the World Cup tickets, said “At no time I was solo… The executive was updated all along about this thing.”

The national football head also told his audience that the proceeds from the sale of the tickets was timely, as the funds were used to send two national teams to tournaments in Cuba and Dominica.

In letters of suspension and dismissal of former general secretary of the SVGFF Trevor Huggins from the SVGFF, Coombs cited that Huggins had sought information on the sale of tickets from a lawyer, which in part violated his employment contract. Huggins’ letter of suspension was dated August 17, 2015.(RT)