Chung: JFF committed to women’s league
Published:Monday | February 19, 2024 | 12:18 AMLivingston Scott/Gleaner Writer
General secretary of the Jamaica Football Federation (JFF), Dennis Chung insists that the late withdrawal of two teams, which disrupted the start of the 2024 Jamaica Women’s Premier League (JWPL) on Saturday, was beyond their control but that they remained committed to the development of the local women’s league.
Chung was responding to a release from Jamaica Football Federation presidential candidate Raymond Anderson, who launched scathing criticism of the JFF for its continued mishandling of the women’s football programme.
In the release, Anderson expressed significant concern over the launch of the 2024 Jamaica Women’s Premier League (JWPL), noting that just three days after the ceremony, the start of the league encountered notable setbacks.
It pointed to the cancellation of the opening ceremony, the withdrawal of two participating teams (Rangers and Royal Lakes), and widespread confusion regarding the match fixtures and venues.
“The initial presentation of the JWPL lacks a coherent vision for the growth of women’s football. Notably absent were details on the league’s strategic plans, the absence of the announced sponsor, and a lack of clarity on the fixtures. Furthermore, there was no information on the support to be extended to the participating clubs or efforts to promote the games and foster interest in women’s football.
“The inconsistency in messages regarding the inclusion of a knockout competition has further contributed to the perception that the launch was merely a superficial attempt to garner positive public relations,” it read.
Chung pointed out that the withdrawal of the two teams threw the opening day into a tailspin but said that that alone would not stop the federation from trying to get it right.
“The withdrawal did not come until late Friday, so we had to rethink everything. It is not a severe setback. The difference now is we have eight teams playing as opposed to 10.
“Matches were played (Saturday), but we had two games that were put off,” he explained.
“Things will be adjusted as we go along. One of the things we need to do is we need to adapt. We are not going to make one thing that happened set back everything.”
COMMITTED
He insists that the JFF is committed to the development of women’s football and will do everything to make sure the league is played.
“This is a developing league, and it is unfortunate the two teams pulled out at the last moment.
“But the JFF cannot sit back and allow that to set back the development of women’s football.
“We are going to press ahead with the development of women’s football as that is the important thing for us,” he said.
The Anderson release also questioned the sponsorship of the competition, but Chung insists that that question is baseless.
“I do not know where that information came from. The fact of the matter is there were unforeseen circumstances where they (sponsors Sherwin Williams) couldn’t make it to the launch.
“It was announced at the launch. They are sponsoring the league, and I think the announcements from the president should be sufficient,” he said.
“I anticipate that we will have a good season. I think this year is going to be a better year than last year.
“But in trying to develop the sport, we are going to have starts and we are going to have stops, but as long as we are moving forward, that is the most important thing,” Chung said.