General Secretary of the Jamaica Football Federation, Dennis Chung, has commended the work done by Jamaican football’s governing body on the back of a busy calendar year of football in the country.

The Reggae Girlz and Reggae Boyz hosted seven games between them in Jamaica between September and November.

“It has been an extremely busy year. In September we had three games, in October we had two games and we had two games in November and anyone who knows what it takes to plan a game, it takes a lot of time, effort and resources,” Chung said at a press conference at the JFF offices on Thursday.

“We had so many events during the year so it was really good that we were able to manage through it. My commendations to the staff because I know the amount of work that they go through to put an event on or to mobilize a team, it is significant. The amount of money that we spent taking the women to the World Cup was about US $2 million. We have to manage all of that,” he added.

The Reggae Boyz hosted Honduras, Haiti and Canada in Concacaf Nations League A action while the Girlz hosted Canada in an Olympic Qualifier as well as Guatemala and Panama in a pair of Concacaf W Gold Cup qualifiers.

Chung also pointed out that despite some hiccups such as Visa issues for travelling parties, the federation was able to get through the year with no major hindrances.

“We are grateful for the activity that has happened and grateful, also, that we really have not had any incidents in the year. We had one or two hiccups when it relates to the Visa process but it didn’t cause any major dislocation,” Chung said.

“The first one had to do with the UK incident where the staff was late in getting their Visas because of the move of the processing from Jamaica to New York and then we had the incident of the U-15s going to Sweden. Outside of that I think we’ve had a fairly successful year administratively,” he added.

Without going into specific numbers, Chung also mentioned that the JFF were able to sort out some financial problems they were experiencing.

“The other thing that was initially a challenge for us was the administration of the accounting because, as you know, the JFF has been on restricted funding for a while but I’m happy to say that, based on how we’ve closed out the year and our interactions with FIFA, who we had invited to come here in November, I think we’re in a much better place,” he said.

“We would’ve gotten, during the year, a tax compliance certificate, which many companies in Jamaica do not have. We have been managing very well, certainly better than last year, in terms of the demands of the organization,” Chung added.

Chung also commented on renovations done to the Captain Horace Burrell Centre of Excellence located at the University of the West Indies.

“We also did a lot of work at the center and we were able to host some national teams there. The Trinidad National Men’s team was there and the Guyana Men’s team was there as well. We were able to also rent out the facility. It’s now well renovated,” he said.

“2023 was a year of bringing all the chips together, ensuring we have the right capacity in place and we’re as productive as possible given the circumstances,” he added.

The current administration will now turn their attention to the upcoming JFF presidential elections scheduled for January 14, 2024.

 

 

 

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.

The Real Solid Action (RSA) campaign team, led by candidate Raymond Anderson, has expressed profound outrage and dismay at the recent uncovering of actions taken by the Michael Ricketts-led Jamaica Football Federation (JFF) 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.
 
"Among those wrongfully and shamelessly targeted are the Vin Blaine-led, Jamaica Football Coaches Association and Beach Soccer Jamaica, led by Pat Garel.  These organizations play a pivotal role in the development and governance of football in Jamaica and must not be silenced.  We also find it absolutely deplorable, unconstitutional and shameful that the federation's leadership deliberately failed to inform these groups of their rights and obligations under the new constitution and has decided to share the document with these entities only as recently as October 2023," an RSA release said.
 
"Further investigations by Team RSA have unearthed attempts by the incumbent president, Michael Ricketts, and his administration to register newly formed "shell" companies. These entities, formed by disingenuous directors and federation staff members, are intended to replace the disenfranchised organizations, further skewing the electoral process in favor of the current JFF leadership. Contact has been made with the Electoral Committee regarding these developments, and we expect and have confidence that this body will act in keeping with its mandate and thoroughly examine the evidence presented as a matter of urgency and with fairness," it added. 
 
On that note, the RSA team declared its plans to host a press conference on Monday, as it called for action and asserted that the alleged misconduct must end immediately. The conference scheduled for 11:00am at the Liguanea Club will be used to present evidence and further details on the disenfranchisement efforts, as well as the RSA's action plan to restore fairness and integrity to the electoral process.
 
"We stand united in our commitment to ensuring a fair and just electoral process within the Jamaica Football Federation. The RSA campaign calls for immediate corrective measures and stands ready to lead the way towards a more transparent and accountable governance of football in Jamaica," the release ended.

Interim Reggae Girlz Head coach Xavier Gilbert will again be without his more established players for the decisive legs of their Concacaf Women’s Gold Cup qualifying fixtures against Panama and Guatemala on November 29 and December 3.

With the players, who achieved the historic feat of making the Round of 16 at the FIFA Women’s World Cup earlier this year still out, Gilbert has once again assembled a squad filled with more youth than experience where senior international caps are concerned.

In fact, Sashana “Pete” Campbell is the only experienced player called up to join fellow 2019 World Cup veterans Chinyelu Asher and Marlo Sweatman in the team.

The Girlz, who lost 1-2 away to Panama and were held to a 2-2 stalemate at home by Guatemala, are faced with a must-win situation in the League A encounters, if they are to secure an automatic berth to next year’s Women’s Gold Cup.

They currently sit at the foot of the three-team standing with a point. Panama heads the standings on six points, with Guatemala on four. Should the Girlz fail to top the standings, they would at least need to finish second to have another shot at Gold Cup qualification through a playoff contest against a League B group winner.

With that in mind, expectations were that the Jamaica Football Federation (JFF) and the World Cup players –who withdrew their services over lack of payment and general “mistreatment” from the governing football body –would have arrived at an amicable settlement, as it is understood that several meetings were planned.

JFF’s General Secretary Dennis Chung explained that meetings were in fact planned but didn’t materialize.

“We had reached out to them and asked them to specify in writing what the details of the mistreatment they allege are, and also to advise us of two dates they want to meet and who the representatives are from their end to discuss, as per the grievance procedures under the contract, as we want to ensure that we do everything according to contract for the protection of all. We didn’t receive any feedback on proposed dates, so we proposed December 8,” Chung told SportsMax.TV.

“Someone said to us they would speak to the players about meeting earlier (Tuesday), but this was not official communication from the players and there was no confirmation from them. And there is still no response to the December 8 proposal, so we have to wait on the feedback,” he added.

However, SportsMax.TV has been reliably informed that the reason for the Girlz silence is due to the fact that they are still yet to be paid in full.

This is contrary to a JFF release on October 27 which states: “The JFF is pleased to advise that, as committed, we have now paid in full balances due to the Women’s World Cup team.”

A source close to the situation denied the claims.

“The players have not received their money and they want it to be made public,” the source shared.

But Chung rebutted.

“As far as we know we have paid all the monies due. I have heard people say that players are due money still, but no one has come to us and say what is outstanding. So, persons outside can say anything, but I have to go by the records we have. If there is money outstanding, then it should be for the players to state what is outstanding, not for people in the public to say money is outstanding. That is not something anyone can act on,” Chung argued.

“Our focus right now is on the upcoming games, while we wait on the response to the proposed date, as we of course want to understand the allegations of mistreatment so that if it is something we need to address then we ensure that it is dealt with for all our players, current and future,” he noted.

The Girlz will face Panama at the National Stadium next Wednesday, before travelling to lock horns with Guatemala a few days later.

Squad: Lauren Reid, Malikae Dayes, Zoe Vidaurre, Chinyelu Asher, Israela Groves, Ricshya Walker, Marlo Sweatman, Davia Richards, Mikayla Dayes, Shaneil Buckley, Melissa Johnson, Aliyah Morgan, Theanna Burnett, Serena Mensa, Shanice Foster, Destiny Powell, Njeri Butts, Sashana Campbell, Shania Harris, Sydnie Street, Javanae Jones, Lachante Paul, Maliah Atkins.

The Jamaica Football Federation (JFF) is singing praises for the Reggae Boyz following their remarkable comeback win against Canada in Toronto on Tuesday night. The Reggae Boyz staged a historic turnaround, with two second-half goals from Shamar Nicholson and Bobby Reid's penalty kick securing a 3-2 victory over Canada and propelling Jamaica to the semi-finals of the CONCACAF Nations League.

In a thrilling encounter that ended 4-4 on aggregate, Jamaica advanced on the away-goal rule, sparking celebrations among football enthusiasts and earning the team high praise from President Michael Ricketts.

"Jamaica's football fans were put on the edge of their seats throughout the game," expressed President Ricketts. "We are so proud of the effort and determination demonstrated by the team. They fought so hard with their backs against the wall, a true example of the character that the country needs to tackle any adversity we may encounter."

The historic win not only secured Jamaica's place in the semi-finals of the CONCACAF Nations League but also earned them a spot in the prestigious Copa America, setting the stage for more high-stakes encounters. President Ricketts sees this as a pivotal opportunity for the team's growth and cohesion ahead of the World Cup Qualifiers next year.

"Now they get a chance to play more big games in the semifinals of the Nations League and the Copa America, which will, in turn, help to pull them together for the World Cup Qualifiers next year," added President Ricketts.

This victory marks Jamaica's first entry into the semi-finals of the CONCACAF Nations League, showcasing the team's rising prominence in regional football. Additionally, it is the third time Jamaica will participate in the distinguished Copa America, underlining their growing influence on the international stage.

The win over Canada holds special significance, as it not only secured Jamaica's first-ever victory over Canada in Canada but also marked the first time Jamaica registered three goals against a North American team on North American soil. The historic triumph is a testament to the Reggae Boyz's resilience and skill, earning them a special place in the annals of Jamaican football history.

 

 

President of the Jamaica Football Federation Michael Ricketts, has attempted to shed some light on the latest challenge facing the JFF in relation to the sanctioning of a number of the 56 delegates that will vote for the body’s next president on January 14, 2024, to determine the way forward for football in the country.

The 56 delegates will come from three pillars and, according to Ricketts, the JFF held an emergency congress on Sunday to sanction the Pillar-Three delegates.

Ricketts explained that there are six entities associated with Pillar Three but of that six, only three were able to meet the requirements.

He put this down to misinterpretation of the federation’s new constitution.

“The new constitution and its articles seem to be causing a lot of issues because people are not interpreting the contents of the articles,” he told SportsMax.tv on Monday, explaining that this was also an issue at Sunday’s meeting.  “What happens now is that there are certain criteria based on the articles that entities must meet for them to qualify for voting at the congress. They were listed! Of all the applicants, three would’ve met all the requirements.”

The president says the JFF received applications from two different coaches associations, a former players association and the beach-football association.

One of the coaches associations, headed by former senior women’s coach Vin Blaine, was not considered as it has been defunct for some time.

“The coaches', where one Mr. Vin Blaine, who is not even domiciled in Jamaica, says that he heads a coaches association with four listed persons. One of those persons does not live here and one of those gentlemen said that he is not a part of the association which has gone defunct for years. They have not been operative,” Ricketts told SportsMax.tv on Monday.

The other association, comprising current active head coaches, met all the requirements and was approved.

“The other one is current and includes practicing coaches now like Merron Gordon, Andrew Peart, Rudolph Speid and Xavier Gilbert among others. They met all the requirements,” Ricketts added.

He went on to say that the former footballers' association also met the requirements and were approved but the Beach Football Association did not because of “serious misrepresentation” as Ricketts put it.

 “The directors for the Beach Football Association were not named, the members were. The directors are those that are listed at the Company’s Office. There were members who were asked to serve. There is a huge debate right now because of one particular gentleman. A member of KSAFA got up in the congress yesterday and said that gentleman has vehemently denied ever being a part of the directorship,” Ricketts explained.

“However, the gentleman sent an email to the JFF this morning (Monday) saying that he is, in fact, a member. So, as it is now, there was serious misrepresentation because the gentleman sent an email saying he is, in fact, a member of the board of directors for beach football. What has happened is because that was raised, I suggested that we defer sanctioning the Beach Football Association until we get clarification so the other two-the coaches association and the past players association-were accepted,” he added.

The remaining stakeholders who have not applied will have until some time in December to try and meet the requirements.

“There are others who we would’ve reached out to and have asked them to apply. So, there are now applications from ISSA, PFJL among others. The referees have some further documents to be submitted. In an effort to ensure that we get all the stakeholders on board, we have extended the period to sometime in December so that those entities who have not met the requirements have a chance to get themselves up in line with the requirements and to apply so we will again have to have another congress maybe just before the voting congress,” he said.

In conclusion, Ricketts lamented the publicizing of the ongoing situation and accused detractors of trying everything to discredit the current JFF Board of Directors.

 “We are publicizing the whole thing and, believe me, we’re making so many issues, making mountains out of molehills, all in the interest of politics," the JFF president said.

"It is just sad how people will do everything to discredit this board. We are not perfect and we make mistakes but, my God man, don’t just try and destroy something you are a part of. We try to be strong and try to be guided by the articles of the constitution and we’re just hoping that after the election, things will be normal and that we just move forward in an effort to grow the sport of football which ought to be our aim and ambition."

The Michael Ricketts-led Jamaica Football Federation (JFF) administration has once again found itself in the spotlight for the wrong reasons, as their integrity has again been called into question by stakeholders.

This, as Beach Soccer Jamaica demanded an explanation for why its application for membership was turned down, while another recently formed entity “that has never operated or been involved in beach football in Jamaica, has been accepted as a member by the Board of the JFF.”

Beach Soccer in a letter addressed to general secretary Dennis Chung said it complied with all the JFF’s request to submit various documents and at no time based on all email responses where there any indication from the country’s governing football body that there were outstanding documentation.

In fact, Beach Soccer in its statement pointed out that they were “never officially provided with the Constitution or any other document that detailed the required submissions,” and, as such are disappointed with the outcome.

“It is with great dismay and shock that we learned in the news media that another recently formed entity that has never operated or been involved in beach football in Jamaica, has been accepted as a member by the Board of the JFF. It is disheartening that this new entity was equally incorporated after the June 30, 2023, deadline for being in existence as stipulated in Article 83(ix) of the JFF constitution.

“We demand an explanation of why our documents were not accepted by the Board of the JFF or why we were considered non-compliant when prior to this decision, we were never advised that we had not met any of the requirements. We note that included in the leadership of the alternative Beach Football Association, which was accepted, are two current members of the JFF Executive,” Beach Soccer’s statement said.“This is a serious breach of your obligation to us as a stakeholder in the JFF, which has unfairly resulted in our organization being disenfranchised for the upcoming election congress, and is an affront to good governance, and appears discriminatory.

“Your actions have left us with no alternative than to report this serious dereliction of duty to the CFU, the CONCACAF, and FIFA for their intervention and as such we have copied them herein,” it added.

Meanwhile, Whycliffe “Dave” Cameron, chairman of the Real Solid Action (RSA) –the team behind Raymond Anderson, who will challenge Ricketts for the JFF presidency on January 14 –conveyed their discontent with how the JFF has handled the stakeholder agreement for Pillar Three for the upcoming elections.

The elections are constitutionally due this year but the decision to move it to early next year, was made to give other stakeholders, particularly those in Pillar Three to apply for acceptance. Only the Past Players’ Association, the Beach Football of Jamaica Limited and the Jamaica Coaches Association have been accepted from Pillar Three.

The deadline for application closes on December 20, and that will allow other stakeholders in that section to apply.

The Jamaica Football Referees Association, ISSA, PFJL and Intercol are the other stakeholders in Pillar Three.

The JFF constitution was changed to allow 56 delegates to vote, up from 13 in previous elections.

“Pillar Three was introduced specifically to recognize the supporting and most important segment of our football landscape to ensure that the representation at the highest level reflects the view of the majority of the stakeholders participating in football.  

“We are of the firm belief that the process to engage the stakeholders was not treated with the requisite due process and importance to ensure they were properly registered,” Cameron’s release said.

“The JFF has been aware of what is required to engage all 56 voting members, but its failure to communicate same has been met with a possibility of them being disenfranchised. We believe there has also been a major breach of the code of ethics which has just been adopted by the JFF again underlying the challenges of the organization,” it noted, while requesting that the issues be resolved as quickly as possible. 

 

Law firm Archer Cummings & Co. has described the current Jamaica Football Federation (JFF) board as “unconstitutional.”

The letter, released by the firm on Wednesday, October 24, highlighted the fact that, based on the JFF’s adoption of a new constitution at it’s congress in December 2022, the current board’s term, which began on September 15, 2019, should have ended on September 14 this year.

“As you know, Article 37.6 of the constitution states that the mandate of the President, Vice Presidents, and members of the board of directors shall be four years. As such, it would seem imperative that we now turn our collective attention to calling the needed election. Your mandate and the mandate of the current board and Vice Presidents commenced on the 15th day of September 2019. Naturally, by a simple calculation your four-year term of office constitutionally expired on the 14th day of September 2023. Meaning, the continuation of this administration is now operating ultra vires of your newly minted constitution. The nature of the standing order and said provisions is not discretionary, but indeed mandatory.”

“The requirement for the holding of a congress requires sixty days' notice to its members. The previous congress has already set the place for this congress and all that is remaining is for a date and time to be set. Although article 37.6 states that terms expire at the congress where a successor is elected, the fact that the current administration has gone beyond the mandated four years is disconcerting and warrants explanation.”

“There have been repeated public declarations defining yourself as the most successful president of the JFF and whilst statistics support the ideation of team growth under your administration, we are not convinced that any of your administration's successes warrant a breach of the federation's guiding principles.”

“Therefore, as we are all committed to the integrity and success of the JFF, we urge you and the current board to set the date for the required election, immediately. Any further delay compromises the electoral process by reducing its transparency, democratic protocols and equity for all stakeholders.”

 

More information has come to light in the ongoing dispute between the Jamaica Football Federation (JFF) and members of the senior Reggae Girlz.

A number of members of the team announced on Saturday a decision to withdraw from two Women's Gold Cup qualifiers next week due to "constant mistreatment" from their national governing body.

According to a statement shared on social media by members of the squad nicknamed the Reggae Girlz, the team have not received "full and correct" payment for their World Cup performance or bonuses for qualifying for that tournament.

The team also allege they received information about their coaching, medical and equipment staff in an "untimely manner and through unprofessional communication".

Players said they only received confirmation of their head coach three days prior to their report date and through social media despite efforts to have direct communication with the JFF.

The JFF on Monday issued a statement of their own to “clarify the facts” as they put it.

“The Jamaica Football Federation (JFF) is aware of certain information in the public domain, and would like to clarify the facts. Our stance is always that we do not discuss specifics of any contract with employees, especially as most contracts have a grievance procedure outlined, and the JFF has an obligation to ensure that we are in strict compliance with the procedures laid out in the contract. This is the reason many times behind our reluctance to discuss the issues publicly, and certainly first, as despite the public criticism many times, we have an obligation to observe the contracts terms we have agreed to.”

The statement continues: “We would first like to say that we have always been, and continue to be, grateful to the Girlz and staff from the FIFA Women’s World Cup (FWWC) campaign, who have together done the JFF and country proud in the historic achievements.

We are especially proud of this achievement, as the JFF, as we all know, is a Federation in a country that has its own economic and social challenges, and has had it difficult to ensure that we provide the best showing available, from the inadequate financial resources. Nonetheless, based on the support of our sponsors – FIFA, Adidas, Bob Marley Foundation, Corporate Sponsors, Reggae Girlz Foundation, and the Government of Jamaica – and our determination to support the Senior National Women’s Team (SNWT), we have spent close to US$4M on the campaign to, and during, the FWWC. While this has come at significant financial strain to the JFF, this is something that we would gladly do again, as we recognize the importance of football to social transformation for the people and the country.

The following outlines the position re the allegations being discussed in the public domain, which we believe we should address the surrounding facts. 

The JFF had made a commitment, through our President, at a meeting earlier this year with the SNWT, that once we received the prize money from FIFA, all the debts (dating back from 2022) under the contractual would be liquidated. We have been successful in doing so. We would like to clarify that the only money that was owed to the Reggae Girls, up to last week, is twenty percent of the JFF prize money from the 2023 Women's World Cup. The reason for this amount being outstanding, is that although the contract stated that an amount of twenty percent is to be paid to the players (including those playing in the qualification matches), it did not specify how the amount is to be distributed amongst the players. JFF reached out to the players weeks ago to ask them how the twenty percent should be divided between them, and just last week we suggested a formula, in order to expedite the process. We did not receive a response and so advised that we would start processing along the lines of the formula we had put forward. This was done.

It is important to note that although the total prize money from FIFA was approximately US$1.8 million, of that amount, there is a reimbursement that the JFF is in the process of claiming. The players are insisting on twenty percent of the $1.8 million, and we have advised that we can only pay out the incentive on the amount of $1.2 million received so far. Apart from the inability to afford to pay out funds we have not received, this is also consistent with the contract that says the JFF must pay out based on what is paid to it. Of course, as soon as the reimbursement is received those funds will be immediately disbursed according to the formula we have paid out on. We have been in discussions with FIFA and we hope to in the earliest possible time resolve the final amounts and pay the portion due to the Girlz immediately. This will ensure that we have nothing outstanding, as we have already paid up the per diem amounts for the Olympic Qualifiers recently played.

The players also asked about who would comprise the coaching staff, which was a condition of responding on being available.  The players were advised that the JFF would have a full support staff in place and that Xavier Gilbert was back on board, but not in the Head Coach capacity at that time.  We never considered that it was important to communicate the names of the coaching support staff prior to being advised of availability. This is not a requirement under the contract, which speaks to specific conditions surrounding availability, consistent with the FIFA rules.

It should be noted that the team doctor, the team manager, the team masseur and the equipment manager are also back on board. Contracts were also offered to four other staff members, who advised that they were unavailable for October.  So, the JFF has always sought to retain the support staff, contrary to discussions in the public sphere.

In response to the travel arrangements, we advised that this will be honored in accordance with the contracts that were signed. The contract states the standard travel category is economy but that the JFF reserves the right to determine the travel category based on circumstances. It is important to note that the JFF has always facilitated upgrades given the circumstances and requests from clubs and the coach, as is provided for in the contract, and we have also always at a minimum sought to place players in premium economy.

Given the response and the contractual requirements, The JFF had written to the Girlz individually advising that we are suspending their selection indefinitely, until we work through the grievance procedure outlined in the contract. We will work to ensure that we go through the contractual grievance procedure, so that we can have final resolution re the issues raised. The JFF always wants to resolve any issues with our stakeholders for a win-win solution.

We want to again mention that we are grateful for the contribution that has been made to the national women’s programme, and as is evidenced by the amount it has cost the JFF, and our follow through to pay off all outstanding amounts to the players, this shows the commitment that the JFF has to the programme.

At this time also, we want to call on all Jamaica to support the SNWT as they embark on their two upcoming qualifiers for the inaugural Women Gold Cup tournament in 2024. We wish them the best and want to assure them that we are focused on providing the support they need to give their best effort as they represent their country and bring us pride,” the statement concluded.

Jamaica’s Minister of Gender, Education, Culture and Sport, The Hon. Olivia “Babsy” Grange, also issued a statement on Monday confirming that she is in communication with both parties trying to help them find a mutually beneficial solution.

“As Minister, I have been careful not to say or do anything that could be seen as political interference in Jamaica’s football programme. However, like any other fan, I have been concerned about the relationship between the Jamaica Football Federation and members of the Reggae Girlz squad,” she said.

“I have been in dialogue with both sides in an attempt to bring them together and will continue to do my utmost to facilitate an amicable resolution in the interest of Jamaica,” she added.

 

Having managed to pull a full 23-member squad out of the hat, interim Reggae Girlz Head coach Xavier Gilbert is now cautiously optimistic about their chances of springing another surprise in the upcoming Concacaf Women’s Gold Cup qualifying fixtures against Panama and Guatemala.

Gilbert, who was appointed late Thursday, skipped his first hurdle by securing the services of a fairly youthful squad, which also includes some out-of-favour experienced players for the games scheduled for October 25 and 29 respectively.

However, the second hurdle remains the fact that Gilbert has a short window to try and achieve some semblance of cohesiveness with his new squad, as they are scheduled to arrive in Panama on Monday and will train on Tuesday, with the game scheduled for Wednesday. They will then return to Jamaica on Thursday to host Guatemala on Sunday.

“Yeah, it is tough, and I always knew it will be a difficult task but that’s the thing with these FIFA windows and how we manage ourselves will be important at the end of the day,” Gilbert told SportsMax.TV.

“The good thing for us is that we have individuals who understand and know what we have to focus on. So, it is good that we managed to find persons and it is also an opportunity for the younger players to showcase their talent and secure themselves a spot in future camps to come,” he added.

Gilbert’s squad includes a new call up in 32-year-old England-born Melissa Johnson of Charlton Athletic, while Canadian-born Israela Groves, 24, who is also up to earn her first international cap, was a part of the senior Reggae Girlz training camp in Florida earlier this year.

Meanwhile, 2019 FIFA Women's World Cup veterans Marlo Sweatman and Chinyelu Asher highlight the more senior players, along with goalkeeper Chris-Ann Chambers, Jayda Hylton-Pelaia, Alika Keene and twins, Malikae and Mikayla Dayes. The remainder of the team comprises mostly Under-20 representatives now transitioning to the senior level.

The coach’s predicament stems from the fact that all 22 members of the successful 2023 World Cup squad have made themselves unavailable, while Cheyna Matthews has retired.

Jamaica Football Federation (JFF) in a release on Friday, announced the suspension of selection for all 22 players until they meet with the federation's hierarchy to resolve all issues regarding payments among other things.

“It is what it is, I can’t control some of the variables, so I just have to control what I can. At this point in time, we managed to assemble a squad and we must give credit to the ladies who have accepted the offer to represent their country on short notice and we just want to build on that,” Gilbert, who is still without an assistant said.

“We have a lot of players who will be earning their first caps so again, it is an opportunity for them to show the world what they have to offer, and we just hope that they will make full use of it. It is going to be difficult against two tough oppositions, but we are hopeful that we can do what we have to, to ensure we get two positive results,” he noted.

Gilbert pointed to the fact that fitness will not be much of a concern with the selected players as his biggest positive as it will allow him to jump straight into technical and tactical work when they arrive in Panama.

“The good thing is that all the players are currently active with their clubs and colleges, that was of some concern, but these players are coming in with games under their belts which is a positive. So again, we just hope that we can get them together as soon as possible and manage to squeeze out some results,” he ended.

Following the opening fixtures, the 37th-ranked Reggae Girlz will then host Panama on November 29 and close away to Guatemala on December 3.

Squad- Chris-Ann Chambers (Dinamo Sokhumi); Javanae Jones (ultnomah University); Lauren Reid (University of Maryland); Malikae Dayes (AAB (Denmark); Zoe Vidaurre (George Mason University); Nevillegail Able (University of Maine at Fort Kent); Chinyelu Asher (SCU Torreense); Alika Keene (SK Slavia Praha Zeny); Israela Groves (London City Lionesses); Ricshya Walker (LaSalle University); Marlo Sweatman (Viktoria Haladas); Christina Salmon (William Carey University); Davia Richards (Hill College); Mikayla Dayes (Rodez AF (France); Shaneil Buckley (Frazsiers Whip); Natoya Atkinson (Seaward County); Destiny Powell (Frazsiers Whip); Melissa Johnson (Charlton Athletic Women FC); Sydnie Street (Seneca College); Jayda Hylton-Pelaia (Woodbridge Strikers); Alliyah Morgan (George Mason University); Shanhaine Nelson (Cavaliers); Tyiesha Nelson (Reinas Academy)

 

 

Reggae Girlz forward Cheyna Matthews is to retire from professional football after what will be her final match this weekend, according to reports.

Matthews, who was a member of Jamaica’s history making Reggae Girlz squad that made it to the round of 16 at the FIFA Women’s World Cup and who plays for the Chicago Red Stars will hang up her boots after her team battles OL Reign at the SeatGeek Stadium on Sunday, October 15. She is to be feted by her club before Sunday's match.

The player who turns 30 in November, has played for the Reggae Girlz since 2019 and represented the team at two World Cups.

The Jamaica Football Federation expressed their gratitude for her contribution to Jamaica’s women’s programme.

“Thank you Cheyna for your wonderful service to Jamaica. As you retire from football we would like to wish you all the best on the next chapter of your life and you will always be a Reggae Girl.

A Georgia native, Matthews, a Florida State alum, began her professional career in 2016 when she was the seventh overall draft pick by the Washington Spirit. She played five years with Washington Spirit before joining Louisville FC in 2021.

Cheyna, who is married to San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Jordan Matthews, is mother to three three sons.

 

 

 

SportsMax.TV has been reliably informed that the Jamaica Football Federation (JFF) intends to retain members of the senior Reggae Girlz technical staff to work with the incoming Head coach, who is expected to be named on Friday.

Xavier Gilbert, Ak Lakhani and Laura Thomas, who were all assistants to former Head coach Lorne Donaldson, are said to be in discussion with the JFF, but their involvement is pending the agreement of terms on a new contract. It is uncertain if fitness coach Will Hitzelberger and goalkeeper Alyssa Whitehead have also been engaged.

Their previous contracts expired on September 30, along with Donaldson’s, but the JFF hierarchy opted not to renew the outspoken coach’s contract.

A source close to the situation revealed that the move to retain Gilbert, Lakhani and Thomas, is for familiarity purposes, given the success they had with the Girlz under Donaldson’s leadership.

Donaldson and his assistants, who were appointed in 2022, led the Reggae Girlz to a second-consecutive FIFA Women’s World Cup. At the tournament jointly hosted by Australia and New Zealand, they had an historic run to the round of 16, after goalless results with France and Brazil, and victory over Panama in the group stage.

The Reggae Girlz eventually bowed out following a 0-1 loss to Colombia.

In their most recent fixtures, the Reggae Girlz suffered back-to-back losses to Canada in a failed bid to qualify for the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris, but the progress the team has made over the past year, is without question.

“They (the assistant coaches) are good man. I don’t think they (JFF hierarchy) will be letting anyone else go, it was just Donaldson. I am almost 90 percent certain that the assistants will stay on,” a source who requested anonymity shared.

Another interesting development is the fact that Jonathan Morgan, who found favour with the JFF Technical Committee in the past, is among those shortlisted for the Girlz top job.

Morgan was expected to take the reins in 2022, but later received an offer from Burnley Women’s team and opted out of the race, which resulted in Donaldson taking charge.

Now back, the Englishman is said to be facing stiff competition from two other overseas coaches, both females, who were not named.

It is understood that all three have already been interviewed, with the Technical Committee expected to make a recommendation to the Board of Directors in short order.

The 37th-ranked Reggae Girlz will be back in action for Concacaf Women’s Gold Cup qualification in less than two weeks, as they are scheduled to visit Panama on October 25, before returning home to face Guatemala on October 29.

They will then host Panama on November 29 and close away to Guatemala on December 3.

Former Jamaica Football Federation (JFF) president Tony James says the recent move to cut Lorne Donaldson from the Reggae Girlz programme, could prove the final nail in the coffin of the Michael Ricketts-led administration, as he believes their chances of retaining leadership of the country’s football were already slim.

James –like many football enthusiasts at home and abroad –has always been critical of Ricketts’s leadership and even felt he should have relinquished the post last year when the senior Reggae Boyz players called for the scalp of then general secretary Dalton Wint.  

At that point, James said Ricketts lacked the requisite acumen to continue leading the sport’s local governing body, as he failed to accept responsibility for the chaos that has unfolded in Jamaica’s football over the past few years with players and some coaches consistently expressing discontent at the constant “lack of respect, transparency and communication” from the JFF hierarchy.

Now thrown in the spotlight once again with the non-renewal of Donaldson’s contract, and the elections due by year end, James thinks it might just result in Ricketts and administration’s demise.

Donaldson, who was appointed in 2022, led the Reggae Girlz to a second-consecutive FIFA Women’s World Cup. At the tournament jointly hosted by Australia and New Zealand, they had an historic run to the round of 16, after drawing with France and Brazil and defeating Panama in the group stage.

The Reggae Girlz eventually bowed out following a 0-1 loss to Colombia.

In their most recent fixtures, the Reggae Girlz suffered back-to-back losses to Canada in a failed bid to qualify for the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris, but the progress the team has made under Donaldson’s leadership is without question.

“The upcoming election is the exact reason why that decision with Lorne is poor. If you have an election in a couple of weeks, why are you going to make a move like this.

“You have a lame duck presidency and administration why are you going to take on a massive investment for a national women’s coach when JFF is still in restrictive financing, why would you want to do that now. So that decision is a matter of bad timing,” James said in a recent interview with Sportsmax.tv.

By virtue of hiring a new coach, James argues that the Reggae Girlz programme will be unnecessarily reset, when there are other areas of the country’s football that needs more attention.

“The schoolboy football needs to be reset, the academy programme needs to be reset and the parishes, the most important on the agenda heading into the elections, have to be reset,” he asserted.

For the upcoming elections, Ricketts, who has been in power since 2017, will be challenged by current vice-president Raymond Anderson.

Anderson, who has served in previous administrations has the likes of former Cricket West Indies President Dave Cameron, Marketing Strategist Cecile Dennis, Kingston and St Andrew Football Association President Mark Bennett and St Thomas Football Association President Wayne Thompson, on his campaign team.

Last year's changes to the JFF's constitutional reform will result in an increase in delegates from 13 –previously consisted solely of parish confederation presidents –to 56, comprising more stakeholders.

James also took issues with those changes.

“Everything seems to be wrong structurally about what they are doing. The election of the parishes comes three months after the JFF elections, and what exist now is a corrupt construct, you can’t have a corrupt construct electing a president and a new board for a four-year term. You should have the election for the parishes first and then out of that election you elect a new JFF board,” James opined.

“The thing is that when you have a corrupt construct that exist in the JFF, the majority of people that are going to vote are people you have to appeal to, to vote for you. So, if you accept the fact that the parishes, especially the rural parishes, some of them are extremely weak and extremely poor in their structure, you have to correct that first or at least attempt to correct that.

“But they are going for votes rather to correct the structure and if the structure is not corrected no matter who gets there (the presidency) then it won’t make a difference. Because you're trying to get football moving forward and get football resilient which means you have to always be moving forward without moving back. Instead, what has been happening now is that you take two steps forward one step back you need everybody in the same boat moving in the same direction,” he ended.

As the dust continues to settle on the Jamaica Football Federation’s (JFF) controversial non-renewal of Lorne Donaldson’s contract to head the Reggae Girlz programme, former JFF president Tony James believes the outcome could have been different had both parties tempered their egos.

James is of the view that neither the Michael Ricketts-led JFF, represented by general secretary Dennis Chung, nor Donaldson really considered the bigger picture, which was to place the Reggae Girlz and their progress at the forefront of the decision-making process to arrive at a more amicable settlement.  

In fact, while noting that Donaldson’s outspoken personality may have led to his ousting, James was by no means reserved in his criticism of the JFF, especially given the Girlz overwhelming success under the outgoing coach’s leadership.

 “No responsible organization is going to have its employees in the public making negative comments about the federation. The JFF has the authority to run football in Jamaica and there can be no questions about that and then there is the case of everybody having an ego which is not such a bad thing,” James remarked.

“The issue is that when you are excessive then you have a problem, so the ego has to be balanced. I am not approving one side; both sides needed to temper their ego and place the Girlz at the centre of their issues. Everybody is on a tangent and once you put the Girlz at the centre and they (JFF) apply good governance principles, I don’t think you would have had the same result,” he told Sportsmax.tv.

James argued that the national development of football should always be of utmost priority for the JFF hierarchy and its Technical Committee, despite personal feelings.

As such, he believes the decision to cut the country’s most successful coach, should have been discussed with certain stakeholders, to include women’s football ambassador Cedella Marley, who has significantly invested in the programme.

It was Marley, who first introduced Donaldson and former Head coach Hue Menzies to the Reggae Girlz programme in 2015, and the two led the country to an historic first FIFA Women’s World Cup appearance in France in 2019.

However, after Menzies departed the programme in late 2019, Donaldson followed suit a few months later, but was reappointed in June 2022, to replace Vinimore “Vin” Blaine, who was forced to resign a few months into his tenure after the players expressed their displeasure with his leadership in a scathing letter.

Like he did in 2019, Donaldson again led the Reggae Girlz to the World Cup, jointly hosted by Australia and New Zealand, where they had an historic run to the round of 16, after drawing with France and Brazil and defeating Panama in the group stage.

The Reggae Girlz eventually bowed out following a 0-1 loss to Colombia.

In their most recent fixtures, the Reggae Girlz suffered back-to-back losses to Canada in a failed bid to qualify for the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris, but the progress the team has made under Donaldson’s leadership is without question.

“You can’t take sides, you have to look on every stakeholder and see what they are bringing to the table and if you have good governance principles then you should discuss it with at least the major stakeholders.

“Cedella Marley is a major stakeholder, have they discussed it with Cedella Marley?” James questioned.

“And in all this the Girlz should be the front of the equation, there are representatives of the Girlz who are very vocal and very focused, you should have called them in and say ‘listen, here is our position. What is your view because I am sure they are going to get a view that is not in agreement with that decision by the JFF,” James continued.

The former football boss also took issue with the JFF’s widely circulated release stating that the decision to part ways was with Donaldson was mutual, as the coach refuted the claims and revealed that the meeting with Chung and JFF’s Human Resource Manager Suzie George-Gayle, lasted a mere five minutes.

The JFF statement said, “after an extended discussion, both parties came to an agreement that the contract would not be renewed.”

James said this again called the JFF’s character into question.

“And again, that is against governance principles. Discussion and respect are a part of good governance principles, so a five-minute thing, I don’t know what you call that, it is just disrespectful,” he opined.

“If the context of what the man [Donaldson] said is true, the press release emanating from that is also false then, because it said that they were in agreement. So, once it says that, and you bring false into it, then it doesn’t put JFF in a good light because there are other things people are going to assume are false,” James noted.

Upon reflection, James recalled the fact that Donaldson was not the initial first choice for the JFF from the onset.

It was Englishman Jonathan Morgan, who found favour with the JFF Technical Committee. However, Morgan later received an offer from Burnley Women’s team and opted out of the race for the Girlz top job, which resulted in Donaldson taking the reins.

“I think that is what is ticking off the JFF, the fact that coach Lorne Donaldson was not selected by them. So, what is embarrassing to the Technical Committee is that they chose someone [Morgan] and Cedella Marley chose a different person [Donaldson] and that person has worked miracles,” James reasoned.

“So, people should be willing to eat humble pie in the context of national importance given the success and progress made in that (World Cup) campaign and say alright let us look at it (Donaldson’s contract) again.

“From there, they could then lay down the plan, not only to Lorne, but to everybody in the national programme that you have to seek permission to speak on certain matters and if you don’t follow the guideline, you will be severely sanctioned,” he explained.

“But the thing with the Girlz programme is that you don’t know who has the authority to speak because you don’t hear anything from anybody else. So, I am not sure who is making the decision for the JFF, if it is the Technical Committee or the Board of Directors, nobody really knows, so apparently all legislation is left to this fellow [Chung],” James ended.

The Jamaica Football Federation has reportedly identified potential candidates to fill the head coaching vacancy with the Senior Women’s National Team.

The position was opened after the JFF decided not to renew the contract of former head coach, Lorne Donaldson, after the team lost a pair of Olympic Qualifying fixtures to Canada in September.

“The interviewing process will begin this week, as we have received a number of applications from experienced and qualified individuals. Soon, a short list will be selected for final interviews. Importantly, this also includes the reengagement of members of the coaching and technical staff,” a post on the federation’s Instagram page stated on Monday.

“The JFF is committed to ensuring that the women’s program is given the best opportunity to succeed and continue the significant accomplishments that have brought much pride to Jamaica,” the statement continued.

Donaldson was appointed Reggae Girlz head coach in June 2022 and led the national women’s team to their second consecutive qualification for the FIFA Women’s World Cup. At the World Cup, he took Jamaica to a historic round of 16 after drawing with France and Brazil and defeating Panama in the group stage.

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