JFF Presidential candidate Raymond Anderson.
The Real Solid Action campaign team, led by Jamaica Football Federation (JFF) Presidential candidate, Raymond Anderson, has provided evidence of what they describe as “massive electoral fraud” by the incumbent JFF administration led by President Michael Ricketts.
Last week, Anderson’s team expressed profound outrage and dismay at the recent uncovering of actions taken by the Michael Ricketts-led administration to disenfranchise constitutionally recognized voter organizations.
Anderson's team said it has in its possession irrefutable evidence showing the JFF's repeated attempts to prevent legitimate voter organizations from exercising their right to vote in the upcoming presidential election, scheduled for January 14.
These tactics, the RSA team believes are a blatant disregard for democratic principles and are aimed at silencing voices that are crucial to the fair and transparent functioning of the electoral process.
They presented said evidence to members of the media and, thus, to the public during a press briefing at the Liguanea Club in Kingston on Monday.
To better understand the questions at hand, we must first gain a better understanding of exactly how the voting structure for the JFF elections is made up.
“There are 56 votes spread across what we refer to as three pillars,” according to RSA team member and current JFF director Denzil Wilks.
“Pillar one comprises all the football parish associations and each parish has two votes so that’s 26 votes there.”
“Pillar two comprises the top four clubs in the Men’s Premier League, the top four clubs in the Women’s Premier League, the top four clubs in what is referred to as the men’s tier two and equally in the women’s tier two. We are aware that in the current circumstances, because there has not been any tier two in the women’s area, there is a special arrangement as far as voting is concerned where the top four in tier one will vote on behalf of what should be tier two.”
“Pillar three comprises the Referees Association, Jamaica Football Coaches Association, ISSA, Inter-col, Beach Soccer Jamaica, Past Players Association and the PFJL.”
With that said, RSA’s major concerns have to do with the disenfranchising of two of these members-the Jamaica Football Coaches Association headed by Vin Blaine and Beach Soccer Jamaica headed by Pat Garel.
The RSA argues that the current JFF administration masterminded the formation of two shell companies, namely the Jamaica Coaches Association led by Rudolph Speid, and the Beach Football Association of Jamaica Limited which listed current JFF vice president Bruce Gaynor, team manager for the Senior Reggae Boyz O-mar Stennett and current JFF director Patrick Malcolm as directors.
These companies were formed to supplement votes for the current administration at the January 14 elections. Both companies were granted admission to the JFF.
The evidence provided against the Jamaica Coaches Association was a letter from the Companies Office of Jamaica stating “the name Jamaica Coaches Association Limited does not appear on our list of registered companies.”
“When we looked at the coaches and we sat and planned, the only group we had in mind was the Vin Blaine-led group that was formed in 2009. There was no other group,” Anderson, who also the current vice president of the JFF, said.
The board was essentially tricked into thinking that the Speid-led Jamaica Coaches Association Limited was a registered company as Anderson explained further.
“When we as a board made that decision, the General Secretary Dennis Chung told us that all the boxes by the Speid-led association were checked and that the association led by Blaine had some outstanding boxes. If you look at it, the boxes that were not ticked for the Blaine-led group did not apply to coaches. It was an inside job. They went ahead and tried to register the company and it could not be registered so they just ticked that box and brought it to the board. Based on that, the board referred it to congress with all those boxes ticked. So, the decision congress made on the coaches’ association is not true. It is a lie!”
A similar situation took place regarding Beach Soccer Jamaica and Beach Football Jamaica Limited.
Beach Soccer Jamaica, run by Pat Garel, is the internationally recognized body controlling the sport in the country by the global governing body, Beach Soccer Worldwide, whereas Beach Football Association of Jamaica Limited is not internationally recognized.
The latter was, however, chosen by the JFF to cast a vote at the upcoming election instead of the actual body overseeing the sport in Jamaica.
“On September 15th, we (Beach Soccer Jamaica) were invited to what would be a congress on the 24th of September to ratify the affiliates based on the mandates of the new constitution. Prior to that time, when we were having any kind of Beach Soccer event, all that was necessary was to send a letter to the JFF and ask them for a sanction letter,” Garel said.
“The congress took place and we were told that we need to be compliant in being a registered company which we did on September 18, then we sent in our membership application on the 19th of September as instructed by the JFF so we thought that we would have gotten an acknowledgment letter which would have been the proper process,” she added.
Garel said that they followed up regarding their application on September 22 with JFF General Secretary Dennis Chung and even thought that they couldn’t go to the congress on the 24th without it being ratified.
“The congress took place and they said don’t worry about it. We need more supporting documents-a short profile of your directors- and we duly obliged and sent those. We kept calling and we kept writing then he (Chung) sent to say that they are giving some of the pillar three people, who are not as compliant as we have been, time to get their documents in,” she said.
According to Garel, they wrote again on October 30th and the message from the General Secretary was the same as before.
“On November 7, we heard through the media that there was consideration for another Beach entity and so we enquired and we were told that on October 18, a Beach Football Association of Jamaica Limited was registered,” she said.
“We got back in touch with Mr. Chung and he said they’re not understanding what’s going on. He told us to just send any other additional information we have regarding our qualification and I said ‘what else would that be?’ He said anything from the international body so we got a letter from the international body inviting both the JFF and Beach Soccer Jamaica to the World Cup in Dubai next February so we sent that letter only to understand, through the media again, that they decided on Beach Football Association of Jamaica Limited,” Garel added.
In fact, one of the listed directors of Beach Football Jamaica Limited, O-mar Stennett, denied any involvement with the company, stating that the furthest his involvement with the sport goes is being added to a WhatsApp group titled Beach Football Jamaica.
The other listed directors of the company- Bruce Gaynor and Patrick Malcolm- wouldn’t even be able to vote at the elections due to the JFF’s constitution. There was even evidence of Stennett's signature being forged on an official document signed by Gaynor.
To conclude, the RSA is appealing to the JFF’s electoral committee, including JOA President Christopher Samuda, Leighton McKnight, Acting Principal of Jamaica College Wayne Robinson and Steve Distant, will overturn the JFF’s decision and grant voting privileges to the legitimate, constitutionally recognized pillar three members, Jamaica Football Coaches Association and Beach Soccer Jamaica.
West Ham 2-2 Liverpool: Antonio header damages Reds' dwindling title chances
Liverpool suffered another blow to their dwindling Premier League title hopes as Michail Antonio's late header snatched a 2-2 draw for West Ham at London Stadium.
Jurgen Klopp's side disappointed in Wednesday's 2-0 defeat against Everton, with Jarrod Bowen's goal and assist inflicting further pain for the Reds on Saturday.
Liverpool responded well to Bowen's first-half opener, edging ahead through Alphonse Areola's own goal after Andy Robertson's 48th-minute leveller, only for Bowen to tee up Antonio's headed equaliser 13 minutes from time.
This draw left Liverpool two points behind leaders Arsenal ahead of the Gunners’ Sunday meeting with Tottenham and one behind Manchester City – who have two games in hand on the Reds – while West Ham remain eighth.
A tepid opening befitted two sides struggling for form as both failed to carve out any gilt-edged opportunities.
Liverpool wanted a 27th-minute penalty for Angelo Ogbonna's tackle on Cody Gakpo and, though an offside call against Luis Diaz silenced those appeals, that passage livened the game up.
Harvey Elliott's curling attempt was held by Areola after Vladimir Coufal went close at the other end, before Diaz blasted a low strike against the West Ham goalkeeper's right-hand post.
Bowen saw a deflected drive parried behind by Alisson but the West Ham forward headed Mohammed Kudus' left-wing delivery into the far corner from the resulting set-piece two minutes before the break.
Ryan Gravenberch flashed a powerful half-volley over immediately after the interval – and West Ham did not heed that warning sign.
Diaz cut inside from the left to find Robertson before a slight deflection off Lucas Paqueta saw Areola caught off-guard as the left-back found the bottom-left corner via the post.
Gravenberch arrowed narrowly wide before one-way traffic finally paid dividends midway through the second half when Gakpo's miscued strike from Trent Alexander-Arnold's corner forced Areola to turn into his own net after a deflection off Tomas Soucek.
Alisson kept his side ahead with a remarkable stretching stop to thwart Emerson's volley, yet the Liverpool goalkeeper was powerless when Antonio headed into the top-right corner from Bowen's right-wing centre.
Elliott almost snatched all three points in the 89th minute but his dipping effort found the top of the crossbar rather than the right-hand corner from long range.
Reds falter once again
Under Klopp, Liverpool have only won more Premier League games against Crystal Palace (13) than West Ham (12).
Yet the visiting Reds faltered once more as what appeared to be a promising season continues to unravel in disappointing fashion for Klopp's final campaign.
Having threatened an unlikely quadruple at the start of March, Liverpool now require a minor miracle – and slip-ups from Man City and Arsenal – to muster a slight shot at the title.
Bowen on target but West Ham struggle at home
Bowen had already found the net in the Premier League and EFL Cup against Liverpool this season and became just the second West Ham player to score in three different games with the Reds in a single campaign – after Geoff Hurst in 1964-65.
His well-taken headed opener eased the nervous home crowd, yet this draw left West Ham with just one win from their last nine Premier League home games.
That concerning home form may be what costs David Moyes’ side a higher finish. The Hammers trail seventh-placed Newcastle United by a point, despite the Magpies playing two games fewer.
Postecoglou not motivated by denting Arsenal's title hopes in north London derby
Ange Postecoglou insists Tottenham must focus on themselves heading into the north London derby with Arsenal, rather than on denting their rivals' Premier League title hopes.
With four matches remaining, the Gunners are a point clear at the summit from reigning champions Manchester City, who still have a game in hand on Mikel Arteta's side in second place.
While Arsenal look to stay very much in the hunt for a first league crown in 20 years, fifth-place Tottenham will aim to reduce their six-point deficit to fourth-place Aston Villa, on whom they have two games in hand.
Spurs are winless in the last three north London derbies - winning just one of the most recent six - though they twice came from behind to earn a point in September's reverse fixture at the Emirates Stadium.
And Postecoglou has his sights firmly set on beating his side's rivals, and says his players are not driven by the prospect of thwarting their opponents' title bid.
"Not in terms of that as a motivation," he said when asked if he would like to dent Arsenal's title hopes.
"I understand the importance of winning against your traditional rival. I never believe your motivation should revolve around the demise of somebody else.
"Your motivation should be about yourself. We can win on Sunday, but it doesn't mean we are title contenders this year. I want to win because I want us to progress. I want us to be in a position fighting for the title.
"If that's your kind of measure, always peering over the back fence to see what your neighbour's building, you could both have the worst houses in the street because everyone else is building beautiful places, and you're looking over the back fence."
Ancelotti salutes Madrid's 'commitment and desire' following Sociedad victory
Carlo Ancelotti hailed Real Madrid's commitment and desire as they edged closer to securing the LaLiga title with a 1-0 victory at Real Sociedad.
Arda Guler scored the only goal as Los Blancos extended their lead to 14 points over second-placed Barcelona, who host Valencia in their game in hand on Monday.
The 19-year-old was making his first start since arriving from Fenerbahce, as Ancelotti rotated his squad ahead of Madrid's Champions League semi-final against Bayern Munich.
And the Italian was pleased by the character demonstrated by his players, who stretched their winning streak to six league matches.
"It was clear that everyone thought we were coming here for a walk," he told reporters. "The only ones who didn't think so were the players. They had commitment and attitude. They had the desire and enthusiasm to keep winning.
"We have a spectacular squad. They have this attitude that they feel like they have to win every game. There are four points left to clinch the LaLiga title, and we are very close."
Guler added on Realmadrid TV: "This is the best club in the world and scoring is one of the best feelings.
"This is Real Madrid, the quality of the players is incredible. We're all always ready to play, and I think we've shown that here. I'm waiting patiently, and I'm still working hard every day."
Ancelotti's rotation meant a first start in eight months for Eder Militao, who marked his return from a ruptured anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee with a clean sheet.
"I've come back to play 90 minutes and I feel like a player again after many months out," the defender said.
"We have to keep winning, we know that nothing is won yet. We have a big advantage, but we have to keep doing a serious job until the end."
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