Photo: JFF President Michael Ricketts and General Secretary Dalton Wint sign a memorandum of understanding for the resumtpion of the National Premier League at the Pegaus Hotel in Kingston Jamaica on Tuesday.
An hour into the staging of a press conference by the Jamaica Football Federation (JFF) on Tuesday to outline the plans for football in the country, as well as the resumption of the Premier League, an email was sent by the powerful Kingston and St. Andrew Football Association (KSAFA) to the country’s football governing body demanding the resignation of the Chairman of the Technical Committee, Mr. Rudolph Speid.
The email outlined what KSAFA saw as an extreme conflict of interest on the part of Speid, who in addition to holding a number of positions on various committees, is also a majority shareholder in premier league club Cavalier FC.
The letter which was addressed directly to Speid and signed by KSFAFA President Wayne Shaw, demanded that he step down with immediate effect.
“The Kingston & St. Andrew Football Association (KSAFA) is requesting your immediate resignation from the post of Technical Chairman of the Jamaica Football Federation (JFF). Currently you are member of the Board of Directors for the JFF, Chairman of the Technical Committee, leads the operations of the JFF’s Coaching School, Chairman of the newly formed Jamaica Coaches Association, member of the Leadership of the Jamaica National Premier League (JNPL) and owner/major shareholder in Cavaliers Soccer Club. This long list of involvement consists of clear lines of conflict of interest.”
The vexed issue of Technical Committee Chairman appears to be the tipping point for KSAFA.
“Central in this list, is the untenable position of Technical Committee Chairman. Jamaica’s football is at a cross roads in many areas and it is imperative that the JFF appoints someone that is void of such conflicts and therefore can view important policy matters objectively. Furthermore, the lack of respect and regard for stakeholders in such an important role will not be allowed to continue. If you fail to honour this request, we will be calling on the JFF to address this matter.”
However, even without fully ventilating the issues outlined by KSAFA, Ricketts made it clear that he would not be acceding to the request of Shaw and company.
“(Rudolph) Speid has contributed significantly to every single aspect to the sport of football and I think it’s unreasonable to ask somebody like Speid who would have contributed so much to resign, but I will look at the document and see exactly what the contents are and then make a determination.”
Having only glanced over the letter, the President said that he wasn’t sure that KSAFA’s claims warranted a resignation.
“I don’t know if all those points would be valuable enough to ask him to resign from a position that he has done exceedingly well since he has taken up that role. I would have to look at it, but I would not accept a resignation from Mr. Speid if he were to tender one as Chairman of the Technical Committee,” Ricketts insisted.
With both parties holding firm lines on the situation it is clear that the issue will take some time to be brought to an amicable conclusion.
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