Dalton Wint in a quirky way has always been nudged into most positions he has held to date.

At first, it seemed people saw more in him than he saw in himself. Perhaps his cautious and shy nature is a character idiosyncrasy or a man yet to fathom his own abilities.

As he tells it, he got into football largely by the urgings of others and it sort of became a habit to always be thrown into the proverbial deep end. But each time, he rose to the surface in glorious fashion.

In his latest appointment, Wint has shed the skin of the reserved and conservative man from Manchester, transforming into a confident and almost cocky general secretary of the Jamaica Football Federation (JFF).

But the 52-year-old electrical engineer has come long way in a football administration career that started in his days as a student at UTech (formerly CAST).

But he was bitten by the football bug long before that as a student at Holmwood Technical High School where a desired playing career failed to get past the training field.

Wint, the current president of the Manchester Football Association, shared with the Jamaica Observer the sad tale of how poverty back then forced him to choose between a pair of football boots and school shoes. He chose school shoes.

With a playing career out of the equation, fate later reunited him with the sport in an off-field support capacity at college.

“During my sojourn at CAST (UTech) I used to manage the engineering team, I then moved from there and went back to live in Mandeville and then I was introduced to the Mile Gully setup by a man named Anthony White, and who then introduced me to Barry Watson.

“Barry was very sceptical and started questioning my credentials as a footballing person, so I started working around the team and he quickly bought into what I had to offer and he decided that he wanted me to manage the Mile Gully team, who was then playing in the Premier League,” said Wint in a flashback on the road to the top.

It was not long before he caught the eyes of established football figures in Manchester and neighbouring Clarendon.

“I started representing Mile Gully at the MFA and Mr Dale Spencer, who was the president, said he wanted to work with me as his general secretary, so I told him I don’t know anything about those things, so I don’t think I can do it.

“I said to him that ‘I will work on your executive and learn the business then I can move to the post of general secretary’.

“Mr Wentworth Skeffrey was the general secretary and there was a falling out and they asked me to act, and after seeing what I can do, he (Spencer) at the AGM asked that I be appointed the general secretary, and it all started to happen from there,” noted Wint.

But his rise in the game in south-central Jamaica was swift and mighty, and before long, he was in line for another administrative post.

“Sometime after 2003, they voted Mr Spencer out as general secretary of the South Central Confederation, so Mr Mike Ricketts became Confed chairman replacing Crenston Boxhill. Vinceroy Blake from St Elizabeth was ushered into the position as general secretary, but he did not turn up for some meetings and so they asked my to take up the position, and I said ‘no I don’t have that kind of experience’,” Wint recalled.

He said after a conversation with veteran football boss Lincoln ‘Happy’ Sutherland, he was convinced to take up the challenge.

The new JFF general secretary, who officially took up the post on November 1, said symbiotic working relationship between himself and new JFF president Mike Ricketts over the years will serve both in their higher appointments.

“We were professional working together, and over time we created a friendship and a bond, and here I am with him continuing in a higher position,” Wint told the Observer.

Wint, who succeeded Portland’s Raymond Grant whose tenure ended with the change of administration after Ricketts beat back the challenge of KSAFA’s Ambassador Stewart Stephenson for the presidency, thanked the former general secretary for his efforts in aiding the transition process.

“The support from Raymond has been tremendous and he still advises on a number of situations as he has a repository of knowledge as it relates to the overall operations of the JFF.

“I would like to take the opportunity to thank Raymond for a job well done because he has improved on a lot of what he came and saw at the JFF, and hopefully with his support, I will be able to improve on what he has established here,” Wint expressed.

The father of three daughters — Daneel, Deganel and Danialee — noted that his accumulated experience as head of delegation for the various teams on overseas assignments have helped to shape him for his new role.

“I started travelling as head of delegation on the second return of the late president Captain Horace Burrell… when you travel on these trips you meet various people at the different levels at FIFA, CONCACAF and the local federations.

“As one with an engineering background I always try to soak up knowledge to help to improve myself and any organisation I am representing… there are various people here (JFF) who are equipped with a range of knowledge and I intend to utilise that and bring it to a focal point where that knowledge can be used to strengthen this organisation,” said Wint.

But the job of chief administrator of a cash-strapped, debt-ridden federation is far from a walk in the park, and no wonder when he announced he would take up the challenge, some people thought he had lost it. Even his wife Helen gave him a curious gaze.

“Some people said I must be a mad man to take up this job as I am giving up a lot that could further equip me to live a better life back in Manchester, but I love challenges and once that football bug gets you, it’s over,” chimed the businessman, who operates Manchester-based Sir D’s Electrical and who maintains interest in CD Construction and Engineering.

— Sean Williams