KINGSTON, Jamaica — The Jamaica Football Federation (JFF) says it is working “ceaselessly and confidently with its players” to arrive at an amicable resolution to contractual issues in the shortest possible time.

The Federation made this announcement while noting that it “categorically disassociates itself from any and all newscasts exposing aspects of (the) discussions”.

According to the JFF, through a special committee it deliberated and finalised a standard contract template to facilitate the engagement of players for the senior national team. It said the process started with a meeting with the players where information including the plan, budget for the programme, financial position of the JFF and the financial outcome of the last Gold Cup and the international friendly games in Saudi Arabia were tabled.

The Federation said the committee reviewed a proposal from selected players based on this standard contract. The JFF said a response was communicated to the proposal on Friday, where a timeline of Wednesday, March 3 was established to finalise the document.

Thereafter, the Federation said the standard contract template will be offered to potential players to establish the pool for the men’s national team. It said that this approach being used is essentially a paradigm shift where players should aspire to represent their national team for the pride and the platform it provides to gain an opportunity to enhance careers or improve professional status rather than the immediate commercial gains.

“The decision taken is always incumbent on the ability to pay; placed in the context of the pandemic, the debt of over $238 million and the possibility of playing games without fans. We also bear in mind the enormous cost of air transportation and the depreciation of the dollar,” the JFF said.

“This new paradigm also recognises the JFF as a business and must be fiscally prudent to operate as a going concern. It is expected the principles will be shared as the JFF implement the wider programme with approximately 12 national teams. It is expected that the contracts will be signed and returned by the end of the week, giving Coach Theodore Whitmore the possibility to select the best possible team for the upcoming international friendly against the United States,” it added.