‘Let us go to the polls’
• JFF president days away from announcing election date• Calls on opposition to put aside ‘shenanigans’ for the good of the sport
Published:Thursday | February 15, 2024 | 12:14 AMLivingston Scott/Gleaner Writer
MICHAEL RICKETTS, president of the Jamaica Football Federation (JFF), says a new date for the organisation’s election will be announced after the board meets at the end of this week.
The JFF election was originally set for January 14, however, Beach Soccer Jamaica (BSJ, an organisation run by Pat Garel, successfully filed an injunction, barring the event until a claim of disenfranchisement could be heard by the court.
Last week, the court lifted the injunction, and although the BSJ and the JFF are set to return to court on April 23 to argue their case, Ricketts said the latter intends to set a date for the polls and calls on Raymond Anderson’s Real Solid Action (RSA) team to put aside the political antagonism.
“(The date) will be soon. We have a board meeting at the end of this week, and we will make an announcement right after,” said Ricketts.
“We are intent on getting things right, and we want to move on with the development side of football. So we need to get on with this election.”
According to Ricketts, the JFF has stuck to its constitution despite claims of foul play.
“I don’t even know if this (court) decision is even appealable because we would have gone through the constitutional process, and that would mean an application went to the board through the gen sec, the board made a decision and took it to the general membership, which is congress, and they approved it.
“So I don’t know if there is anybody who can change that, not FIFA, nobody. It is based on the JFF constitution and the FIFA statutes, and that is standard. So I don’t know what the issue is,” said Ricketts.
The JFF president is also confident that he will gain twice as many votes as his challenger and dared Anderson and his team to test their confidence at the polls.
“I’m absolutely (confident of returning as president), no question about it. We have the numbers, and if they are so confident, they should stop the shenanigans, stop the propaganda, stop the fabricated stories, and let’s go to the polls.
“Let us go to the polls. Let us vote and finish with this. It is hurting football. But obviously, a lot of people on the other side have no interest in the sport, so they don’t care what happens.”