JFF surplus
Chung: We stuck to the budget with our games and controlled expenditure
Published:Monday | February 12, 2024 | 12:09 AMLivingston Scott/Gleaner Writer
Dennis Chung, the Jamaica Football Federation (JFF) general secretary, says the federation made significant strides last year with its financial governance, and those improvements resulted in a surplus of more than $60 million for the organisation.
He said they have worked with FIFA to implement proper financial policies and procedures at the JFF, and that proper budgeting around games, having a purchase order system and improved partnerships with sponsors helped to create greater financial stability within the federation.
“We stuck to the budget with our games, controlled expenditure in the budget, proper reporting to FIFA is done, and we put a purchase order system in place.
“So we had some success in 2023. When we sent off to the auditors for auditing, it showed that we made a surplus of $60 million,” he declared.
Nevertheless, the organisation is not out of the woods, as it still has a debt of $170m, which Chung said they intend to trim exponentially this year.
“We started with a deficit of $230m at the end of 2022, but we still managed to move it down to $170m.
“We still have a long way to go. We still have a financial crunch to manage, but our commitment is to better financial governance and proper transparency.
“We are making a commitment to ensure that we pay off our long-suffering vendors, including our players who we have owed money for a while.
“Last year we paid the women, and this year we have made a commitment that the first quarter going into the second quarter we want to pay off the money owed on the men’s side.
“But we have been paying down on what we can so far, and we will continue on that trend, because it makes no sense we say we are successful and we owe people money. We have to come out and ensure that we liquidate those debt,” he continued.
He insists that the federation is on a path of greater financial stability and that it only augers well for the nation’s football programmes.
“We want to ensure we have a strong JFF in place, because in 2024 we are looking at development of the youth, and the only way that is possible is with a strong JFF.
“We are more stable than we were in the past. I know there are criticisms out there, but you have to roll with the punches. People will criticise.
“But the infrastructure is a lot stronger and the staff we have put in place is a lot more acclimatised to the sort of transparency we want,” he said.
“We have a budget for this year but I don’t want to say (how much) as yet. After congress approves it, the budget will be put on the website.
“But as far as I see, the future is looking bright in terms of financial governance, and we plan to push out another small surplus, although it will be a busy year.”