JFF rolls out health-care plan for former players
In an effort to support former national players, some of whom might be struggling financially, president of the Jamaica Football Federation (JFF) Michael Ricketts says his organisation has started a health-care programme tailored for those who have dedicated their lives to the development of the country’s football.
The programme, to be done in partnership with the Past Players Association, will see the JFF working closely with Dr Neville Graham, a medical doctor at the Winchester Surgical and Medical Institute, in order to provide a 30 per cent discount on all doctors’ appointments to every former Jamaica player.
According to Ricketts, the JFF is determined to provide as much help as possible.
“We are in the process of providing identification cards for these past players so that they can present their cards when they go to the health facility. It is work in progress and this JFF is committed to do as much as we can for our past players,” Ricketts told the Jamaica Observer.
“We are working seriously to ensure that we get things right and to ensure that we provide some kind of a medical care for our past players. We understand that some past players have really fallen on hard times and even in this day and age health care is very expensive and when you would have got to a certain age it presents a lot of challenges.
“Since we’ve been in office, we have been trying to establish a relationship with our past players. We’ve not been able to give as much as we would have liked. Through the pandemic, we were really strangled so to speak, but know that things are getting better we’re just hopeful that we’ll be able to give some support to our past players,” Ricketts further explained.
Dr Graham’s support for the health-care programme will be very helpful to the former players, said Neville Oxford, president of the Past Players Association.
“That’s a wonderful effort. I believe that might be worth millions of dollars if you consider the value of it. I must express my gratitude to the JFF for completing those ID cards so they will have them to show when they travel to Winchester Medical with Dr Graham and his colleagues.
“We are really happy about that. And this is just, I hope the beginning of many things for the prior players who have served since the 1940s and 1950s, and I’m really appreciative of that,” Oxford added.
