 Yeah, welcome back to the Sportsmax Zone. Jermaincan law firm Archer, Cummings and Cole have formally written to the President and General Secretary of the Jermainca Football Federation. The first of two letters released on Tuesday, the 24th of October, was addressed to the GFF President Michael Bricketts, questioning the legality of the current board's existence. The letter highlighted that based on the GFF's adoption of a new constitution at its Congress in December 2022, the current GFF board's term, which began on September 15, 2019, should have ended in September this year. In a second letter dated Thursday, the 26th of October, GFF General Secretary Dennis Chong was requested to respond to electoral concerns related to the current membership of the Federation. This relates to the formation of entities after the stipulated deadline, which may be considered to become a part of the GFF's list of voting delegates. Joining us to explore the two issues at hand and maybe even so much more, yeah, Denza Wilkes, former general manager of the Sports Development Foundation. He's now head of athletic development and training at the UWI Mona and he's joined by human resource specialist Dr. Cecil Dennis, lady and gentlemen. It is a pleasure to have you on the Sports Max Zone. First of all, I want to get an understanding of your connection to the real solid action team. I like the name by the way, real solid action. And that team is led by Raymond Anderson, who we've had on this show before. So I want to get an understanding of your connection. Let the lady go first. Okay. Thank you for having me. Well, you're not alone. A couple of persons have asked, what's your connection? So I'm actually a sports person. I represented Jamaica in table tennis and not just at the sport. I played with Sandra Reti and Sofa Virgo and in fact, in 1993, I was a part of that winning Caribbean champions team. So I've been connected with sports, but in 2007, I held a marketing position with an organization, COK, and we actually took the sponsorship of the Champions Cup. And out of that sponsorship, I developed a relationship with the JFF, with football, and subsequently I was asked to sit on their marketing committee. I actually started, but unfortunately had to admit. So my association is a long one. With table tennis, I've been a part of administration, which of course gives you exposure to the other aspect of sports. So I guess Mr. Anderson thought I had some skills that would add value to this real solid action team. Yes? Sir Wilkes. Well, I've been around for a long time, over 50 years of the football game, and not to mention involvement in a number of sports. I've played at the national level like my colleague here, but I really have been involved and let me say that Mr. Anderson approached me while I was still at the Sports Development Foundation, and he asked me to join his team. I have developed my own perception as far as administration is concerned, because for nine and a half years at the Sports Development Foundation, I had to do with interfacing with the administrative people across as many as 60 national sporting associations. And so I think I have an in-depth appreciation for the challenges that come with administration. And in particular, as far as football is concerned, I was asked by the current president of the JFF to serve on the technical committee some four to five years ago. So there you go. Yes. So let's get right into the meat of the matter then, and let's not skirt around the issues here. There is an election that is coming up for executive positions at the Jamaica Football Federation. Of course, chief among those for the position of president of the Jamaica Football Federation. I think everyone knows by now across Jamaica and the Caribbean that Raymond Anderson is set to challenge Michael Ricketts, who is the sitting president. Michael Ricketts recently in an interview said that elections will not be held this year, even though they are constitutionally due this year, and that it is likely to be held in January of 2024. You are saying that is unconstitutional and should not be the case. Bring us up to speed. So yes. So all the actions of the JFF are guided by the constitution. And this constitution was, we want to refer to it as a newly adopted constitution. In the constitution, there are provisions for elections, and there is a stipulated tenure for every administration. This administration has a four-year tenure, and that tenure expired on September 14. Between September 14 and probably yesterday, there was no mention of the election date. And of course, there is a 60-day period in which the election has to be announced, and it has to be held within the 60-day period. And our team, we were really looking at what's happening in the dates, we're watching the dates, and realizing that if the election is not called by a specific date, then we're either going to be at New Year's Eve or we're going to be in 2024 without any plausible explanation as to why the elections were delayed. We raised the question. Yeah. Densey, you're about to say something. No, I'm not. I just want to mention, you just said that you were a part of the technical committee, invited to do so by the current president, Michael Ricketts. But you were suspended, weren't you? Oh yes, just recently I was suspended as a result of that improve, we should call it, with Lauren Donaldson and the Rege Girls being, his contract not being renewed, and I of course made certain utterances publicly, I still stand by them, but for my sins I have been suspended, I'm pretty confident with that. You breached collective responsibility. No, I did not because the technical committee had not met and had not made any pronouncements. All we had was the general secretary calling in the coach and telling him that his contract was being renewed. So there was no collective decision taken. So I cannot be accused by any stretch of the imagination of reaching any collective responsibility. Yeah, our understanding based on the number of delegates or the number of representatives that can vote, which has been increased from 13 to 56, is that I heard the general secretary speaking on television a couple of weeks ago and he was trying to explain why things were not in place for an election to be held this year. And it had something to do with the endorsement of some of the new bodies that are being added to the list. Can you explain his position? I know you don't agree with it, but for the benefit of our viewers, can you explain what Dennis Chung was was saying? Well, I have to start by saying that must be a confession to their election of duty because he has been in the position. The administration has been there and even before him. And they knew when the new constitution came into being and there was more than enough time to ensure that the relevant Congress was held and everything else was put in place to suggest that things are out of place has to be on his part and admission of the election of duty. But in addition to that, the fact is we are aware that there is a deadline of June 30th for the various entities that are involved in the vote to have been properly registered. And I am not sure where he's coming from. So in short, I am not able to explain the shenanigans of Mr Chung. Yeah, let me see if I can put some context to what Sir Lance is referencing. So as you pointed out, Lance, before there were 13 voting members, which were the parish associations only, that has now been increased to 56. They have been placed under three categories or three pillars as they have been described. Pillar one would be the parish associations who individually would have two votes each. So that would end up being 26 of the 56 votes. And then you have pillar two, which would be the clubs. You have the top four primarily clubs. You have the top four tier two clubs. So that would be eight votes. And then you have the top four women's clubs and the top four tier two clubs on the women's side. But there is no top two, sorry, there is no tier two women's competition. So I gather those votes will go to the top four women's teams, which would make it eight. So that's 26 plus 16, 42. And then there is pillar three, which is where I'm gathering most of the issues are, which are the affiliates of the Jamaica Football Federation. So we're now talking about the professional football Jamaica Limited, who we know very well. We're talking about the Beach Soccer Association, the referees association, past players association, coaches association, inter-secondary school sports association, and Intercal seven. And they will come with two votes each. So that's 14, which will take you to the 56. Apparently, from what I'm understanding, ladies and gentlemen, is that some of these associations have been registered twice by different individuals. So let us take, for example, the Beach Soccer Association. One was registered some years ago under a particular name, and one has been registered more recently under another name. So from what I understand, and again, you can correct me, there is to be a meeting soon to decide what will happen with the affiliates that, can I say, have been registered twice? All right. OK, so let's take it from the Constitution. Yes. The Constitution has articles that speak to different points in the process of registration. All right, so Article 12 speaks about being an affiliate, being members. And then, way down, there's an Article 83, which it talks about transitioning. But it specifies a date by which any of these entities who want to be recognized, they should be registered and, of course, submit what is required to the JFF. Which is June 30, 2023. Yes. Let me ask you this question before you go any further. Is it true that if the election goes to 2024, then that June 30 date becomes irrelevant? From a review of the Constitution, we have not seen anything in the Constitution that eliminates that date. Our cause is the date to be no longer in effect. There's nothing. However, there is a process of accepting these members. But if the entities seeking membership were not registered and the process had not been completed before June 30, then they would not be eligible. However, I have to say, however, there was something today that suggested that the date had been changed. You mean the June 30 date? Yes. There is some information which has surfaced, which suggests that the date has been changed. However. Where is that information coming from? I can't state the source. I can't state the source. So this is not public knowledge? Several persons have the information. But I can't confirm the source. But there is a suggestion that the date, there's a recommendation for the date to be changed. However, that change cannot be made by an individual. The recommendation cannot be made by an individual. It would have to be voted on by Congress. And not just the board now? No, it has to be Congress. Right. Can I ask a question quickly, Denzel and Cecile? Because it is my understanding that the current president, Michael Ricketts, would struggle to get votes from the pillar three, which we have just outlined. Is that your understanding as well, representing the Raymond Anderson group? Well, let's say we have heard the same thing too. One can say what is the fact. But we have been advised. And we have reason to believe that he is struggling to get a nomination from the group referred to as pillar three. And that may very well have to do with the kind of gymnastics that are taking place now. Because if everything was in place, as Cecile said, up to just about a day or two ago, there was nothing said about an election in circumstances where your term of office has really and truly ended. Now, we understand that you don't want to create a vacuum. And so you want to ensure that there is a Congress and an election before there is a change. But any decent administration would at least indicate that, OK, here are the circumstances. We are late. But these are the basis for that. We haven't heard that at all. And now we have the situation where we see people running in October to register organizations contrary to what is set out in the Constitution. Is what I'm hearing true that there is a proposed meeting this week that the General Secretary is meeting with a board that could fast track some of these registration issues? Well, we are sticking very close with our legal advisors. And our understanding is that, as Cecile just said, it's only a Congress that can change that situation in terms of the deadline of June 30 for the registration of the organizations. And that is our understanding. And that's what we're sticking to. We are watching very closely. We have heard from meeting in the coming week, but we have heard of a board meeting. And our understanding is that it will take a Congress, which is much more authorized than a simple board. But what would your position be if this board meeting goes ahead and the GenSec and the board decides to go with the program that they now have re-registering these double registrar people? Yeah, affiliates. Yeah, you know, what would that be a legal issue that you would contest? Well, we can object. Anybody can object. Any club can object to any action that appears contrary to what the Constitution outlines. And if, certainly, if this team believes that whatever happens is outside of the ambit of the Constitution, then we will object. Which your letters to the GenSec and the president clearly stated that there is an objection from a legal objection from your standpoint. Yes, because the Constitution is a legal document. And every activity, every action has to be guided. And certainly for our team, any appearance that suggests that you are trying to deviate from what the Constitution says is something that we will object to. But again, we await the outcome. You referred to two associations, double registration. And we're not sure why. You mean beach soccer and referees? Yes, we're not sure why. But let's not skirt around, though, because our understanding is that some of the late registration applications are coming from the RIKID supporters, or people who would be backing RIKIDs. All right, let's look at the beach. In the case of beach, our understanding is that both registrations are late. One was in September of 2023, and the other one in October of 2023. So both of those are in breach of the June 30 deadline. In the cases of the others, well, in the case of the referee, I don't even know if there's really a registration, because there's a referee association has been around, I think, since the 1990s. But before you go any further, the Jamaica Football Federation, this administration, when they came into office, they put together a referees' committee. And so the referees' association was not acting in such a role for the period. But for voting purposes, that committee can't vote, so you now have to go back to the association. Yes, because my understanding is that the Constitution contemplates the association, and not any special committee that is set up by the board. And in the case of coaches, for example, we have a coaches association that was registered as far back as 2009, and we have another one that was registered in 2020. And in the case of the 2000s... And so you need to now decide what's from SWAT? Is it the 2009 registration, or is it the 2020 registration? And how could you have a 2020 registration when a body already existed since... The 2009 registration has been Blaine's body? That is... Yes. And the 2020 registration is Speed's association? Absolutely. Rudolf Speed is with Ricketts? That's our understanding. I want to also make the point, right, and you can help us make this very clear that the significance of the pillars is not just about getting majority of those 56 votes, but you have to get at least a nomination from each pillar. So you need two nominations from pillar one, which is the parish associations, one from pillar two, which the clubs, and one from pillar three, the affiliates. And so if any person is unable to get, let's say, a pillar three nomination, they cannot contest the election. Absolutely correct. Absolutely correct. Hence what I referred to earlier on as shenanigans last minute running around and trying to register organisations that are really trumped up. Lance asked an important question earlier about where do you go from here? So let us say, and Michael Ricketts has said, that's the current president, the election will not be held this year. In a radio interview, we hinted at an early 2024 date, is the real solid action team ready to take this matter to the next level? I know you've spoken about legal alternatives, but take this, the conca-calf, and beyond that to FIFA. Absolutely, absolutely. And in fact, the statement that the election will not be held in 2023, it smacks off a bit of dictatorship in the sense that I don't know that a congress has been called and an explanation provided to say certain logistical problems make it impossible to have the elections. If it is accepted that constitutionally the elections are due in 2023 and specific circumstances suggest that you may not be able to make it, then the leadership ought to come in all humility, apologize to the stakeholders and indicate that because of these circumstances we are seeking the permission of congress to take the election and yes, we were prepared to take it through to conca-calf and ultimately to FIFA, if that is what is required. I've understood in recent months that there are FIFA representatives, mostly from the financial standpoint, overseeing the operations of the JFF offices at the moment. And my understanding is that these FIFA representatives have been for a long time, for several months, constantly reminding the JFF that these pillars and these new registrations must be in place because the constitution demands that the election has to be held by December and it has to be announced six to days before, which means that the announcement should have happened like in the past week. Exactly. If they were meeting the timeline and there was a constant reminder from the FIFA representatives that they needed to ensure that these registrations were properly documented so that there would not be any delays or any hitch with regard to the scheduled elections from the JFF, which to me aligns with what you suggested earlier on that the situation that we are now in, the JFF has to take responsibility for. Clearly. I can confirm that the FIFA does have a consulting person within the JFF as we speak and he's there on behalf of FIFA and conducting not just a financial audit but a governance audit. I mean, I have been actually contacted by the consultant because he had to verify whether or not I served on the technical committee and certain questions were asked of me regarding the operations of the technical committee so I can confirm that there is a representative of FIFA operating within the office. It should also be noted. It's unfortunate, you know. The current president has been in office for approximately six years. The current administration has been unrestricted funding by the FIFA for five years. There are two unfortunate things about that. The current administration did not inherit the situation. This situation, it started within this administration. In addition to that, it is my understanding that we now have a world record. No other country has ever been unrestricted funding by FIFA for five years in succession. Just for the benefit of our viewers, restrictive funding from FIFA means that they haven't been satisfied with your financial operations so they are restricting the funds that would normally accrue to your federation because of that. Absolutely. Is that a large part of the reason or any part of the reason for the financial woes that the JFF continues to speak about? There can be so many thoughts as far as financial woes. First of all, do they really have financial woes? We were told, for example, that they received a certain sum from FIFA to pay the girls. We had a figure of 1.2 million from the general secretary. We had a figure of 1.5 million from the president. The general secretary then proceeded to say that they cannot pay over the 20% that was due to the regular girls because they can't pay what they don't have. My appreciation for simple arithmetic is that 20% of 1.8, which is what they were supposed to get, amounts to somewhere in the vicinity of $360,000. Now, if you receive 1.2 million, the calculation there suggests that you have more than $360,000. So you can't tell me that you can't pay what you don't have. There is something not so correct about that statement. It's not mathematical. And so one has to question. Then we have a situation where they are not paid in spite of being told at different times that this has been paid. And then, all of a sudden, the general secretary now announces, okay, they have now all been paid. So it means that at some point in time, when you were saying that they had been paid, they had not been paid. What I can also tell you is that I have documentation which suggests that they have not yet completed payment to the coach whose contract was not renewed. I know that he has written to them making a claim for funds outstanding to him and indicating that if they do not pay up by a certain time, he will take legal action. So this administration, which I have worked with at some point in time, albeit voluntarily on the technical committee, has really been a bit of an embarrassment including to me as an individual. I want to get quickly from you, Denzel. At what stage did you make up in your own mind that you did not want to go forward with this administration? We started having problems. I mean, I started questioning the administration, going way back. We know the kind of fall-ups that were taking place with the previous general secretary. Define way back. We're going as far back as 2021, coming through 2022. Okay. They were just making error after error after error. And at those times, I mean, I was in constant communication with the president in my capacity as manager of the Sports Development Foundation because it was causing an embarrassment. Wasn't there a point that as the president, as the boss of the Sports Foundation, you withheld money from the JFF because of some financial issues? Yes, I had to. I was going to get there right away because this had to do with Suriname when the team got stranded in Suriname and they had a match back in Jamaica by the Tuesday. And as it turned out, it seemed as if they weren't going to make it back for the match in time or if they were going to make it back to be just in time, you know, time to prepare and that sort of thing. And we had to make some really difficult arrangements to get the flights. We had to get a charter out of Mexico, that plane had to come to Jamaica to refuel and then go to Suriname. There were no funds available to do that. And everybody knows it was public knowledge. I had to literally utilizing the leverage of the Sports Development Foundation to ask Chris Williams for up-fronting some funds that we could do all of that. Having done that, the understanding is that the JFF should repay a portion of that sum which was found by Mr. Williams. And they went way beyond the time. This is going beyond the time as far as the elections are concerned, it seems to be a habit of this administration. They went way beyond the time and as general manager of the SDF, I had to withhold their monthly subvention and indicate that if they did not pay up, we would utilize the monthly subvention to repay Mr. Williams. And so all of that took me to a point which said, I mean, this administration is incorrigible because you are constantly working with them. And I mean, I can go into things like getting their financials and all of that. They are always behind with their financials. If I go back to my time at the Sports Development Foundation, it's a litany of wars. Yeah, yeah. Why have you stayed so long? With them? Yes. Love of football and hoping that something would happen that would turn things around. I mean, there are discussions I had with the president. Pleading, we brought him to the table at the Sports Development Foundation, himself and his general secretary, then Mr. Wint sat around the board table with the board members and advised them and coerced them, you could all, or cajoled at the best, you know? So it's been a long journey. I contemplated many a time stepping away from the technical committee, but I think I had a responsibility to stay in there. And I'm glad I did, because in the circumstances for the selection of the coach for the reggae girls, remember initially, Lauren Donaldson was not the chosen one, you know? I was the lone voice crying in the wilderness. And it is only the situation where Jonathan, what's his last name? Morgan. Morgan. Morgan was engaged by Sheffield United, and then was no longer available. He was their choice. I was outvoted completely, but then I'm used to that. I mean, all the votes going back to top a bit more. I mean, I'm so used to be outvoted, I was like a beating stick on that committee, you know? So you started having some issues, as you pointed out in 2021. Yes. They're about, you have your concerns about whether the JFF really has the financial issues, wars that they point to. And it just sounds to me that you're at your wit's end now, that you feel this association just cannot continue, this administration cannot continue to run Jamaica's football. It would be a travesty. It would be so unfortunate after all that has taken place. There are some things that we don't even want to get into too deeply, but at the highest level of leadership, there's this dereliction that has taken place as far as the whole court case is concerned. And it's not subjudicates, so I can mention it. And I'm not even talking about the decision that was taken, but I'm talking about just not paying any mind to the thing. I mean, my layman's understanding is that you're in fact in contempt of court, and then when you get the decision taken in absentia, you don't even make that effort to pay up. What kind of level of responsibility? Give us more details of that court case. Well, I'm speaking of the judgment that was made against the incumbent president because of a case brought against him by one of his colleagues. And the court ruled that a payment was to be made. The thing was not contested, and that is dereliction. It having not been contested and you get a ruling against you in absentia, you then move to the next stage where you are now supposed to pay. You don't pay, you end up in circumstances where a vicar has to be seized and you talk about bailiff. And that is the leadership of your premier sport in the country. As I said before, it would be a travesty. Yeah, we're running out of time, but I have to get this one in Raymond Anderson. Why do you believe that Raymond Anderson, who has been in football administration for close to 40 years, who has been part of this administration and previous administrations, has something different to offer, something better to offer? Very simple in my case, and Cecil can speak. Raymond, I've been close enough to watch the organization. Raymond has been, over time, more like the workhorse of the organization. He's been in operations, he's handled the competitions and the areas of responsibility that he has had to carry out. He's carried them out pretty well. We can go back to collective responsibility, yes. So he has to take responsibility collectively for some of the fall-offs, because it's part of it. But what I do know is that there are so many decisions that have been taken around not just Raymond, but around numerous other persons and the executive. This is an administration that takes decisions not in a real collective way. And that is why you have a situation where, for example, the president said in response to the letter that was sent to him, that he was advised not to respond. Then you get a response from Mr. Chong. So there clearly is a discord somewhere. There's no harmony. There's not even unison. We're in trouble. So the question was asked. Why Raymond? 20 seconds. Yes. So leaders emerge in crises. And as an HR specialist, I can tell you that. Leaders emerge. And there is, sorry, there's nothing wrong with a leader being a part of a team believing that he can build on what exists or he can improve on what exists. He has all this experience. And this is something that the real solid action team wants to do, because we have a manifesto. We're done. We're ready. We're ready. We want to rebuild. We want to reposition the sport. We want to revitalize the passion, get persons out. We saw what happened in the game. You could count the number of supporters. We don't want that to happen. We want to be sure that the future of football is in the hands of not just Raymond, who can lead, but this multidisciplinary team that he has formed. And everybody's asking about Slate. It's coming. Dr. Cecile Dennis, Denzel Wilkes, it's been a pleasure speaking to both of you today on the Sports Mag Zone. Definitely. An eye-opening conversation we had here today. And we are sure we'll be talking to you before the end of this year. Or who knows if Michael Ricketts has his way early January. We take a break on the Sports Mag Zone. We'll be back with more.