Adrian Frater | JFF did Wadada an injustice

Everyone who knows me well would have known that despite my undying love for football, I am far from being a fan of the current Jamaica Football Federation (JFF) administration simply because, in my opinion, they are not operating like persons with the requisite competence to move our football forward.

Over recent weeks, I have been watching the federation frustrate the management of former national champions Wadada, who have been asked to engage fellow St James team Montego Bay United FC (MBU) in a play-off to fill the void in the Jamaica Premier League (JPL), which has been created by the withdrawal of UWI FC.

While I have had a close relationship with Wadada in the 1990s, serving the club in an administrative capacity, I must also admit that I supported MBU in recent years because, as a true fan of western Jamaica’s football, I carry the same amount of passion for whichever team is representing the region at the highest level.

Before delving into what I believe is an act of injustice against Wadada, to be fair, I believe that in terms of readiness to compete in the JPL, MBU is far better equipped than Wadada since they have their own facility, to include game field, training fields, clubhouse, and accommodation for their players.

However, the JPL play-off is not about which team has the better facilities and the many other positives in MBU’s favour, it is about applying the federation’s rule to ensure that the team that properly qualifies is the one that gets the opportunity to compete in what is the nation’s top football league.

The decision not to award Wadada the place in the JPL by virtue of them being the 11th-place finisher in the last completed competition, but instead ask them to engage in a play-off with MBU seems arbitrary at best, since no rules were advanced to support that action. Additionally, putting the matter in the hands of the JFF’s Competition Committee Chairman Gregory Daley, who is from St James, created a possible conflict of interest, and that is far from being a good look.

MESSY SITUATION

In fact, with Daley belatedly extricating himself from the process after it got contentious, with Wadada’s management claiming that prior to MBU getting into the picture, he had told them that the slot was theirs, based on their 11th-place finish in the last concluded JPL competition, it makes the whole thing look quite messy.

After listening to Kingston and St Andrew Football Association Vice-President Carvel Stewart’s take on the matter, I am inclined to believe that Wadada has been hoodwinked by the JFF because, unlike the johnny-come-lately in the current JFF administration, Stewart is a vastly experienced football administrator who knows the rules inside out, which is further strengthened by his unquestionable integrity.

If Stewart says that based on the rules, Wadada should be the automatic qualifier for the JPL slot, I see no good reason why I should not take his word, unless the JFF is able to use its constitution and its competitions rules and regulations to prove otherwise. To be frank, I would not think twice about accepting Stewart’s words, based on the way he has portrayed himself over many, many years.

I believe no decent football lover should stand by and allow the JFF to push aside Wadada without first providing clear and conclusive evidence to support their action. I have watched Daniel Ricketts, who has become the administrative backbone of Wadada, doing his best to satisfy every unreasonable demand made by the JFF, only to be hit with more unreasonable demands.

To be brutally frank, I believe the leadership of all the clubs in the JPL should demand that Wadada get justice as per the rules of the JFF, because today it might be Wadada, but who knows who it will be tomorrow? At the end of the process, I am ready to support whatever team emerges as the legitimate representative, as my interest is to see that justice is served.