(Trinidad Guardian) Works and Infrastructure Minister Jack Warner on Saturday remained mum on the ownership of the Joao Havelange Centre of Excellence, the multi-million-dollar football facility at Macoya. An e-mail sent on Saturday by the T&T Guardian to Warner’s communications specialist Francis Joseph yielded no response, while efforts to reach Warner also proved futile.
Documents obtained exclusively by the T&T Guardian, which was published in Saturday’s newspaper, showed that the centre is jointly owned by two companies—CCAM and Co Ltd and Renraw Investments Ltd. Renraw is “Warner” spelt backwards. The centre is the subject of a legal battle between FIFA and Warner.
FIFA said last month it plans to take legal steps to recover the ownership of the centre, said to be worth US$25.5 million, which FIFA says it funded. FIFA said the centre was signed over to Warner’s family firms.