– Michael Hall
Sunday, January 14, 2024, will become a significant date in the history of the sport of football in Jamaica. It will be remembered either as the day when those who could make a positive difference did so or as the day when the status quo, with all of its glaring negatives, was allowed to prevail.
As the holder of senior roles in sports administration and management here in Jamaica and regionally for more than 25 years – in both the public and private sectors – I believe that I have the authority to speak on what constitutes good practice in the business of sport. But going beyond that, given the research I have been doing regarding the current crossroads at which football administration finds itself, what follows is prompted more by a sense of obligation that any self-perceived expertise.
Since it is the election this coming Sunday that will determine whether football, so unsure of its next direction, makes a right turn or gets left behind, my article’s main focus will be squarely on that event. With apologies, to paraphrase the late Prime Minister of India, Indira Ghandi, “The winning or losing of the election is less important than strengthening the sport.”
Of course, her quote made reference to strengthening the country, but I use it as a reference because the principle is the same – it was an implied appeal to her opposition, in the event of their victory, to focus on the greater good. Unfortunately, based on what we have all seen with regard to the current administration’s performance, and what I have been able to find out about their disingenuous efforts to ensure an election victory, I would definitely not suggest that the challenger for the JFF presidency and his team rely on any such goodwill.
Although the history of administrative incompetence and poor communication with stakeholders resulting in a litany of embarrassments and multiple apologies by the current administration is well-known, some of them bear reminding given our unfortunate habit of creating 9-day wonders – which are usually discarded when the next one comes along.
1. Non-participation in the 2019 CONCACAF Under-15 championships
Jamaica’s Under-15 team missed this tournament after the Jamaica Football Federation’s (JFF) request for emergency appointments for visa-less members of the team was not granted by the US Embassy. The fact that emergency appointments were even necessary speaks volumes, and it came as no surprise when CONCACAF fined the Federation US$30,500 for this administrative bungling – a fine that they could ill afford.
Sadly, even with a highly touted new GenSec in place, our Under-15 squad was once again the victim of poor planning when their highly anticipated participation in a tournament in Sweden ahead of the same tournament in 2023 was scuttled – again for a lack of the necessary visas.
2. Reggae Girlz Ambassador embarrassed at 2019 FIFA Women’s WC
This resulted in negative global coverage of the sad and shameful incident involving the non-accreditation of Cedella Marley which forced her to greet the players through a fence following their game against Brazil at the 2019 WC. The current President’s feeble attempt to explain away this glaring ineptitude was perhaps more embarrassing than the incident itself.
In what has become a hallmark of his administration, Mr. Michael Ricketts blamed the incident on poor communication. “I again want to apologize on behalf of the JFF, and I really think that communication, or the lack of it, would have caused this breakdown.”
3. Private citizens forced to bail out JFF over lack of proper travel arrangements
Of course, it took a threat from the Sports Development Foundation (SDF) that they would withhold the JFF’s monthly subvention in order for the citizen to be repaid. This monumental foul up ultimately caused the resignation of then GenSec, Dalton Wint, who was responsible – but even that was mishandled by the President who, in spite of a long list of blunders by Mr. Wint, somehow managed to sign a letter guaranteeing him full payment of his contract before he demitted office.
Sunday’s Election
While the few examples above (time and space prohibit citing the many more which could be provided) clearly demonstrate the current administration’s ineptitude, the following details of its attempts to rig the election process in an effort to hold on to the leadership, are what should really open the eyes of the eligible voters who might be considering keeping things as they are by voting for the incumbent and his slate.
The current constitution of the JFF was approved in December of 2022 and requires that its 12 Members be “registered bodies domiciled in Jamaica”. These 12 Members are drawn from 3 separate “Pillars” as follows:
Pillar 1
1. The 13 Parish FAs (which are accounted for, solely for the purpose of definition, as a single Member)
Pillar 2
2. Men’s Tier 1 clubs
3. Men’s Tier 2 clubs
4. Women’s Tier 1 clubs
5. Women’s Tier 2 clubs
Pillar 3
6. Jamaica Football Referees Association (JFRA)
7. Jamaica Football Coaches Association (JFCA)
8. Past National Players Association (PNPA)
9. Inter-Secondary Schools Sports Association (ISSA)
10. Intercollegiate Sports Association (INTERCOL)
11. Beach Soccer Jamaica (BSJ)
12. Professional Football Jamaica Ltd (PFJL)
One of the requirements of the new constitution was that the JFF was to “ensure” that all Members were fully informed of their status by June 30, 2023, thereby enabling them to be “in Congress”. For reasons which I will set out below, this was never done. In fact, the first notification of any kind to the members in Pillar 2 and Pillar 3 was by way of an invitation to a congress held in September 2023.
It is also well worth noting that the upcoming election should have been held in calendar year 2023 but suffered postponement as a result of contrived delays in informing all Members of their rights and obligations – contrived to allow time to plan strategies for subverting the election process.
Blatantly illegal strategy
One of these strategies was exposed when it was revealed that the current administration fabricated the formation of Beach Football Association Jamaica Ltd and Jamaica Coaches Association when it became apparent that Pillar 3 would not be nominating the incumbent. This blatantly illegal strategy was a desperate attempt to disenfranchise the long-standing and duly registered Members listed at 7. and 11. above.
At the September 2023 congress, the JFF invited the listed Members in Clause 12 of the Constitution, all of whom attended. There it outlined to the Members, inter alia, that all of the Parish Associations (Pillar 1 Members) and Clubs (Pillar 2 Members) were confirmed, but that the Pillar 3 Members had to apply for their membership, in accordance with Clause 13 of the constitution. It is significant that this was done only for the Pillar 3 Members who, just like the other Members, also existed at the time of acceptance of the constitution in December 2022.
At this congress, the existing and practicing Pillar 3 Members were named as:
a) Jamaica Football Referees Association Limited (JFRA)
b) Jamaica Football Coaches Association Limited (JFCA)
c) Past National Players Association Limited (PNPA)
d) Inter-Secondary Schools Association Limited (ISSA)
e) INTERCOL Association (INTERCOL)
f) Beach Soccer Jamaica (BSJ)
g) PFJL.
Of these Pillar 3 Members only Beach Soccer Jamaica and INTERCOL were not registered as a corporate entity at the Companies Office of Jamaica, and this should have been their only outstanding requirement.
Even so, despite their constitutionally established status, and in the absence of correct and honest advice from JFF, all the existing Pillar 3 Members except for INTERCOL, submitted the requested documentation to the JFF in September and October 2023.
Comparative analysis sheets
Later, at a Board of Directors (BoD)meeting at the beginning of November 2023, the General Secretary, Dennis Chung, presented comparative analysis sheets which were used to approve the memberships of PNPA and two newly created organizations, namely Jamaica Coaches Association (JCA) and Beach Football Association of Jamaica (BFAJ).
All three bodies were presented to a congress in November 2023, but only two, the PNPA and JCA were approved as Members while a decision on BFAJ was deferred. The decision to defer was taken because one of the persons named as a director had stated in a social media podcast that “he did not know of the company and had not signed the application form”.
Subsequent investigations then revealed that JCA was not a company registered by the Companies Office and that the signature of the “director” of BFAJ who had disclaimed participation was a forgery. It should also be noted that Chung, in his comparative analysis report submitted to the BoD, had stated that JCA had submitted its legal status requirement and a Certificate of Incorporation from the Companies Office which turned out to be totally false.
In fact, it turned out that the newly formed JCA was made up of a group of coaches who are all employed to JFF as well as a JFF Director who doubles as chairman of the Technical and Development Committee. It was also revealed that BFAJ was incorporated by current JFF Vice-President, Bruce Gaynor, and current JFF Director, Patrick Malcolm, and that the alleged Director of BFAJ who denied knowledge and participation was at one time a JFF employee. The same report submitted by Dennis Chung also recorded that BSJ did not submit nor have legal status or a Certificate of Incorporation although these were submitted to him weeks before the BoD meeting!
At the same November congress, the JFF stated that all Pillar 3 Members would have until December 20, 2023, to regularise their membership. ISSA and PFJL have subsequently been accepted. The others have still not been authenticated. In spite of the abovementioned irregularities with its formation, BFAJ was approved at a congress held on December 16, 2023.
Disenfranchised
In summary, the bodies approved as Pillar 3 Members are PNPA, JCA, BFAJ, ISSA and PFJL. Noticeably 4 of the original stakeholders JRFA, JFCA, INTERCOL and BSJ have been disenfranchised. These four members are all registered companies with the Companies Office.
What should be patently clear to any objective member of the football-supporting public, and, more importantly, to every JFF Member with a vote is that all of the illegal(approval of an unregistered entity and forgery of a signature in the application for registration of a fabricated entity) and unconstitutional (disenfranchisement of members named in the constitution) actions taken by the incumbent JFF were undertaken to enable the nomination of the sitting president and his colleagues.
You see, five nominations are required by each candidate – three from Pillar 1, and one each from Pillars 2 and 3, and, after the September congress it became obvious that none of the Pillar 3 Members named in the constitution would nominate or otherwise support the incumbent – hence the fabrication of the JCA and BFAJ.
I close by making two final points.
First, although the election is set to proceed this coming Sunday, there are other troubling clouds of irregularity hanging ominously over it. Among the constitutional requirements demanded of individual federations by FIFA is the incorporation of all of its duly recognized Members as registered businesses. It is instructive that while actively pursuing the disenfranchisement of the Pillar 3 Members as detailed above, the same level of scrutiny and due diligence was never applied to the following Pillar 1 Members who support the incumbent, and who, to the best of my knowledge, were not incorporated by the JFF imposed deadline of December 20, 2023:
1) Manchester Football Association
2) St. Elizabeth Football Association
3) Westmoreland Football Association
4) Hanover Football Association
5) St. James Football Association
6) Trelawny Football Association
The second and final point speaks to the matter of public record regarding Michael Ricketts being found guilty in January 2022 as the defendant in a defamation lawsuit, being fined a substantial amount, and being ordered to make a public apology on radio and in print media. It is worrying that Mr. Ricketts ignored this ruling and had his motor vehicle seized by bailiffs of the court – hardly the type of individual JFF Members should want to lead the Federation.
The JFF’s constitution is clear in its provisions in respect of the eligibility of candidates for membership in the executive of the JFF. Anyone who has been convicted in a “Parish Supreme Court” in a substantial matter cannot seek election. He is constitutionally ineligible. I encourage the voting Members of the JFF to think carefully on these things.
Michael Hall is currently the Tournament Operations Director for the Caribbean Premier League and served as the first General Manager of the Sports Development Foundation as well as General Manager and Board Director of Independence Park Limited.
