JFF moves to reprimand KSAFA boss

Saturday, November 21, 2009 8:05 AM

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Sunday, November 08, 2009

The board of directors of the Jamaica Football Federation (JFF) last Tuesday passed a resolution to issue a "severe reprimand" to the current Kingston and St Andrew Football Association (KSAFA) president Rudolph Speid for his alleged role in the unsuccessful Reggae Boyz tour of England in 2007, which left the JFF indebted to the tune of more than J$21.1 million.

SPEID... former JFF treasurer

The decision was made after the findings of a board-commissioned forensic audit conducted by the respected auditing firm, Deloitte, were revealed during a special board meeting which lasted almost seven hours at the offices of the JFF.

According to a JFF statement released that evening, in addition to the reprimand, the local governing body also "reserves the right to reconvene and give due consideration to further sanctions if warranted".

The statement further claimed that the board has established from the audit that the management of the 2006 England tour "lacked proper accountability... and there was a misrepresentation of the facts and misleading of the board and delegates at the congress held in Manchester in 2007, in relation to contractual and financial dealings of the said tour".

It added that the board has "considered the very serious financial and reputational implications to the JFF". The audit did not identify any specific individual.

Speid, the treasurer of the JFF at the time, under the Crenston Boxhill-led administration, could not be reached for a comment, despite repeated telephone calls to his cell phone since Tuesday. However, a Sunday Observer source revealed that the KSAFA boss "does not wish to speak publicly on the matter at this time".

The JFF became indebted to the English Football Association (FA) following the game between Jamaica and England at Old Trafford on June 3, 2007, after it was issued 9,118 tickets to sell to Jamaican fans for the game which England won 6-0.

The tickets were reportedly sold for £25 each, but the JFF failed to hand over the agreed portion of sales to the FA.

The new JFF administration and the English FA have met on a few occasions in an effort to arrive at an amicable solution. At the last meeting between the two parties, just over a year ago, the JFF was granted a reprieve by the English FA after its chairman, Lord David Triesman, agreed to defer consideration of the debt until after the 2010 FIFA World Cup Finals in South Africa.

Meanwhile, the UK courts made a judgement in the amount of J$1.45 million to NVA, a partner of the JFF in the arrangement of the game, in the absence of a defence by the local governing body, after the claim was lodged.

In fact, bailiffs acting for NVA visited the JFF recently and served notice during last Tuesday's meeting.

"This matter has not been resolved and is still upon us," Captain Horace Burrell, president of the JFF, told the Sunday Observer. "We have between 21 and 28 days after the notice has been served to pay."

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