JFF president Captain Horace Burrell said the late Rudolph ‘Rudy’ Gittens “was a tireless” servant for football, as the Jamaican paid tribute to the Trinidad-born Canadian doctor.

Gittens, who has served football “for most of his life”, died suddenly at age 80 on Wednesday in his naturalised homeland of Canada.

“We have lost a very valuable member of the football family, one who over his lifetime has given selflessly to football in the Caribbean, wider CONCACAF, FIFA and of course Canada where he leaves an indelible mark,” said Burrell.

“So on behalf of the JFF family and the medical committee in particular I would like to convey condolences to the friends and family of Rudy,” the JFF boss added.

Gittens, who was a well-known sports medicine practitioner, is known in Ottawa in particular for his work with football clubs the Ottawa Rough Riders and the Ottawa 67s.

He served the Rough Riders as team doctor for more than 20 years before responding to the higher calling with Canada’s national football teams in 1984.

Gittens was team doctor for the Canada national team that won CONCACAF championships in 1985 and 2000.

Internationally, Gittens also served on sports medical committees of the Atlanta 1996 Olympic Football Tournament, the FIFA Women’s World Cup USA 1999 and three successive FIFA World Cups from 1998.

In 2007, Gittens was the general medical officer for the FIFA U-20 World Cup in Canada, which was held in six cities across Canada, including Ottawa.

Giitens has been Canada’s representative on the FIFA Medical Committee for many years and has been a major contributor in many areas, including research and drug doping.

He was inducted in the CONCACAF Canada Soccer Hall of Fame and worked as a volunteer leading the Canadian Soccer Association Medical Committee for more than 20 years.

Gittens first went to Canada in 1953 as a student and went on to obtain pharmaceutical and medical degrees from the University of Saskatchewan. He also held a fellowship in orthopaedics at the University of Ottawa.

He also played recreational football most of his life in high school, college and university.

Gittens is respected worldwide and is often requested to speak internationally on behalf of Canada, at medical/football conferences.