Jamaica Football Federation (JFF) presidential candidate Raymond Anderson has expressed concern about the recent developments surrounding the Jamaica Women's Premier League (JWPL).

This, as three days post-launch, the league has encountered notable setbacks, including the cancellation of its opening ceremony, the withdrawal of two participating teams, and widespread confusion regarding the match fixtures and venues.

Anderson in a release through his Real Solid Action (RSA) team on Saturday, argued that the initial presentation of the JWPL lacks a coherent vision for the growth of women's football, as details on the league's strategic plans, as well as the announced sponsor, Sherwin Williams, were both absent from the launch. Furthermore, he said there was no information on the support to be extended to the participating clubs or efforts to promote the games and foster interest in women's football.

The inconsistency in messages regarding the inclusion of a knockout competition, Anderson believes further contributed to the perception that the launch was merely a superficial attempt to garner positive public relations.

"This approach mirrors the ongoing issues faced by the Senior Reggae Girlz, underscoring a pattern of inadequate management and planning by the Jamaica Football Federation (JFF). In light of these challenges, the RSA urges the General Secretary to promptly address these critical issues. Immediate action is necessary to rectify these flaws, which threaten to demoralize players and undermine the clubs' stability," Anderson's statement read.

"I firmly believe in the potential and significance of women's football in Jamaica and pledge to ensure the establishment of a well-structured, Tier 1 women's league, complete with substantial sponsor support, under his leadership. This commitment is a cornerstone of the manifesto (launched December 2023), reflecting our dedication to elevating the standard and visibility of women's football in Jamaica," it added.

Anderson, who is challenging incumbent Michael Ricketts, pledged that the JFF under his leadership would commit to revolutionizing women's football in Jamaica through a multifaceted approach. He also promised to prioritize and invest the necessary resources and effort into the development of the local women's football league, ensuring it reflects the high standards set by the national team's accomplishments on the global stage.

"Our manifesto emphasizes the importance of grassroots development, aiming to significantly increase girls' exposure to football from an early age, thereby laying a solid foundation for the future. Recognizing the critical role of competitive play in development, the initiative includes the establishment of a properly organised Professional Football of Jamaica Women’s League and support for annual competitions across various age groups and technical levels. This framework is designed to enhance skill development, experience, and national representation opportunities.

"The achievement of a women's squad qualifying for the World Cup twice would presumably serve as a significant incentive for investing in the local women's league. However, this expectation appears to have been unmet," the statement ended.

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.