Football on life support

WITH THE country at least a month away from knowing who is going to lead Jamaica’s football for the next four years, courtesy of the courts, there are obvious concerns the entire programme is now in a coma and not breathing on its own.

Chief doctor Michael Ricketts, Dennis Chung, his assistant, and Rudolph Speid, playing the role of anaesthetist, through incompetence, have placed patient Jamaica’s football at a point of almost no return.

The football family at this time are requesting your prayers but not privacy.

Whether our dear football can return from death’s door will be a matter for the voting delegates to decide shortly.

However, one thing is certain, if this current “medical team” returns, we will inform you of funeral arrangements.

Not so long ago, the Reggae Girlz placed this nation at a place on the football world stage where none of our other national teams have been. Within weeks they were nowhere to be seen. The Jamaica Football Federation (JFF) did that.

Weak men pick fights with women, and weak men bully and ignore the concerns of women. Real men know that if you pick a fight with a Jamaican woman it is to our own peril and we ignore them to our further peril.

Cedella Marley left the programme in obvious protest of how women are being treated. That is a major blow. That move has set the women’s programme 10 years back.

But guess what? Elaine Walker-Brown, the lady who stood up and fought for women’s football in Jamaica some time ago when the men killed it, is now running as first vice president on the ticket of Michael Ricketts.

Mrs Walker-Brown, what are you doing? Sending your reputation and legacy into free fall? I am sure you will never be seen in the same light or held in the same esteem as before. Then again, while we speak of the resolve of our Jamaican women, in the midst there are exceptions.

Looking at the two slates for the election, it is evident that Raymond Anderson’s team has the more competent individuals, capable of bringing life back to football. The entire slate put forward by Ricketts cannot match the individual leadership qualities of Anderson, Keith Wellington, or Dave Cameron.

At this point, no team of sports administrators in Jamaica now, except for cricket, can be more incompetent than this JFF. The sad thing about it, they are too arrogant to know how ignorant they are about leadership.

The prefect body of any high school in Jamaica would run the JFF better.

I would like to publicly apologise to Mr Dalton Wint, the former general secretary of the JFF, who I once labelled as most incompetent. Dennis Chung is now proudly wearing that title.

In fact, Chung, Michael Ricketts, and Billy Heaven of cricket are now locked in a three-way tie as to who is the worst sports administrator Jamaica has ever produced and there is nothing to separate them.

After the last election, someone came out and spoke about the trips that were given to delegates to ensure support. This time around the contention is about the registration of groups to replace existing groups. I am sure an organisation named FIFA is paying close attention to this election process.

I am not clairvoyant, but not long ago I warned the Caribbean against removing Dave Cameron as head of West Indies cricket.

Under his leadership, we were T20 men’s and women’s world champions, as well as under-19 men’s champions simultaneously. Recently, West Indies named its weakest team since 1930 for any Test series. This team is now in Australia. Embarrassment awaits us.

I also encouraged local cricket administrators to shun Heaven. Today, Heaven has brought cricket in Jamaica to hell.

In the case of the JFF and the upcoming election, based on what transpired over the last two months, Ricketts looks set to return. However, if the delegates vote on his performance, he has no chance.

We the football family are waiting to see if the delegates will allow Anderson and his team to try to revive the programme or if they will allow Team Ricketts to allow us to only wear the black in our flag.

stevbrownie@yahoo.com