JFF not rushing Whitmore decision

THE JAMAICA Football Federation (JFF) is not in any haste to get rid of national senior men’s football team head coach, Theodore ‘Tappa’ Whitmore.

General secretary of the island’s ruling body for the sport, Dalton Wint, told The Gleaner yesterday their executive body will be making an announcement on Whitmore’s position when they are ready.

“We’re having our internal discussions and when we’re ready, we’ll make everybody know,” Wint said of the JFF executive, which is expected to make a decision based on recommendations made by its technical committee.

A function of the JFF’s technical committee involves making recommendations for and about coaches of the country’s national football teams.

However, the final decision about hiring or firing a coach rests with the JFF hierarchy, which is led by its president, Michael Ricketts.

Speculation has been rife for some time now that Whitmore would have been relieved of coaching duties because of the country’s lowly standing in the ongoing Concacaf World Cup qualifying competition.

ANTICIPATION INTENSIFIED

A day after the team’s 1-1 draw against the United States at the National Stadium in Kingston, those levels of anticipation intensified on Wednesday evening when it was announced that the JFF’s seven-man technical committee was to meet with the main topic surrounding a recommendation about the coach’s job, whether to keep or let him go.

The meeting was held and though there has not been any official public release of the numbers, there have been reports that the committee recommended the removal of Whitmore as the Reggae Boyz head coach by a vote of five to two.

However, when contacted yesterday, Wint made it clear that he was not willing to delve into the issue and the JFF executive would be making its position known soon.

“A (press) release is imminent, very soon,” he said.

Wint, who as general secretary is responsible for running the JFF’s day-to-day affairs, noted that the JFF executive is handling the matter with a certain level of respect for Whitmore, his family, the coaches and players.

“It’s not good for Tappa, it can’t be good for anybody and the programme itself,” he stated.

“Tappa is a human being and he has a family. It can’t be good for him and the coaches and that’s not how we’re going about the thing,” Wint clarified.

Jamaica’s Reggae Boyz, having played eight of the 14 matches in the final round, are sixth in the eight-nation standings on seven points. The top three countries are guaranteed automatic qualification to the Qatar 2022 World Cup Finals, while the fourth-place team will get a second chance via a continental play-off.

Four teams in the World Cup spots right now are at least seven points ahead of Jamaica, with six games remaining. They are led by Canada on 16 points, the United States, 15, and Mexico and Panama, each tied on 14. All eight countries have six matches remaining.

audley.boyd@gleanerjm.com