Jamaica Football Federation (JFF) General Secretary Dalton Wint has signaled his intention to resign during a director’s meeting on Monday evening. However, his terms for separation could force the local governing body to pull the trigger and execute a dismissal instead.
That’s the latest state of affairs in a fluid situation ahead of Tuesday’s return-leg fixture between Jamaica and Suriname in the CONCACAF Nations League A match inside Kingston’s National Stadium at 8:00 pm.
Wint came under pressure after the Reggae Boyz demanded his resignation on Saturday evening following the botched travel plans to get the delegation home following their 1-1 result away in Paramaribo.
The players are adamant that if the former Manchester Football Association President is not removed from his post with the JFF, they will not take the field for Tuesday’s second game in the Nations League.
A voice note of a brief interaction between JFF President Michael Ricketts and the Reggae Boyz team members, which went viral, indicated that Ricketts agrees with the players’ call for Wint’s sacking.
In fact, upon arrival in Kingston on Monday morning, Ricketts acknowledged that urgent action was necessary to resolve the impasse.
“The situation was untenable, to say the least, but we will meet this morning and deal with it with some level of urgency because we understand that this is the nation’s business, so we just have to be very serious with what we do, and certainly by 11 o’clock we will meet and do a press release right after,” he told the media.
A meeting with the Board of Directors did take place in the late evening, and it is said to have lasted for about an hour and a half, finishing just after 7:00 pm.
CNW Network understands that during the meeting, some backers of Wint argued against his dismissal, citing the fact that he had never been officially charged with any prior allegation of incompetence.
It was then suggested that he be asked to resign, and when telephoned into the meeting, he indicated a willingness to resign.
However, efforts to reconnect with Wint to get the effective date of his resignation proved futile.
But late in the night, a source indicated to CNW Network that Wint had submitted some terms for his separation, including full salary payment to the end of his contract, which is December 2023.
One director said that such demands were impractical and that the JFF might be left with no other choice but to dismiss him if a resolution could not be found quickly.
On Monday night, the JFF issued a release that stated: “The General Secretary of the Jamaica Football Federation, Mr. Dalton Wint, has given his unequivocal and irreversible commitment to submit his resignation.
“The Board of Directors of the JFF look forward to receiving same soonest. Other relevant information regarding this matter will be shared with the country in the coming days.”
Meanwhile, the Boyz had issued a statement earlier on Monday, saying they were “drained,” “tired,” and had had enough. They said they needed a change and better leadership.
They explained the straw that broke the Camel’s back.
“The players were up until 3:00 am on the morning of the match, tackling the leaders of the JFF after finding out that our flight arrangements back to Jamaica haven’t been properly booked.”
The players noted that the statement was prepared on Sunday evening while stuck in Suriname.
“To make matters worse, we also found out that the Surinamese National Team will be arriving in Jamaica before us, the Jamaica National Team. This is another example of the incompetence displayed by the leaders of the JFF.”
They said this has been their reality as players for far too long, as they haven’t been prepared to be successful, and when failure intervenes, they are blamed.
“Time and time again, the JFF shows us that they don’t care about the players or the state of Jamaica’s football. We are drained. We are tired. Enough is enough!”
They said it was not about money, despite not being paid for months, as they accepted the call to represent Jamaica.
“For us, it is more about the lack of respect, transparency, and communication. We all signed a contract that the JFF had breached multiple times. Some of the things included in the contract are proper hotel accommodation and travel arrangements. Yet still, we arrived in Suriname to couch beds.”
“Shamar Nicholson and Ravel Morrison, among others, didn’t join the team in Suriname because of poor travel arrangements. What is meant to be a two to four-hour flight turns into an around the world trip.”
They added that the JFF constantly tries to cut costs that affect their preparation and that the love, passion, and excitement are being drained by the constant lack of adequate leadership from the JFF.
“We the players are saying enough is enough. We need a change. We need better leadership. The players will no longer represent the country until he does (Wint resigns).”
 General Secretary Dalton Wint has signaled his intention to resign after demands from the Reggae Boyz team.){kind=link}