DESPITE Leon Bailey’s suspension from the Reggae Boyz and his subsequent controversial comments last month, Jamaica Football Federation (JFF) President Michael Ricketts and Bailey’s adoptive father and agent Craig Butler have expressed a willingness to settle their dispute ahead of a crucial summer for the national senior men’s team. However, Butler says there are conditions for the player’s return.

The 26-year-old’s form has caught worldwide attention this season with his impressive 14 goals and 13 assists in all competitions for Aston Villa, who are on course to finish in the top four of the English Premier League and are in the last four of the UEFA Europa Conference League.

However, his club performances didn’t safeguard him from omission from the national team as Head Coach Heimir Hallgrimsson suspended him from the Concacaf Nations League squad in Texas in March, after he broke the team camp’s curfew during the international window in November.

However, a day before the Reggae Boyz’s semi-final clash with eventual champions USA, Bailey, in an interview with Jamaican content creator Jaii Frais, was heavily critical of the JFF regarding travel, accommodation, and equipment issues, while also saying he had intended to step away from international duties prior to the suspension.

“[Hallgrímsson] did say to me that he wasn’t going to invite me to the next camp but, way before this happened, I always had it in my head that this is too much on my plate when it comes to the national team, and I was really going to take a break from it, and then [the suspension] just tipped off everything. I felt that was really harsh and it just said to me that me being in the national team right now, it really drains my energy a lot,” Bailey said in the interview.

“Jamaica’s national team is not doing anything for me. Jamaica’s national team is not going to give me exposure. Playing for Jamaica is not going to make Real Madrid call me. I am shining light on the national team by playing overseas and representing as a Jamaican all the time.”

Ricketts told the Jamaica Observer that he still regards Bailey highly but says talks of a return have not materialised.

“To be honest, no [we haven’t spoken] but hopefully, somehow, we will make this connection and see how we can amicably settle whatever issues Leon may have,” Ricketts said. “Leon and I have a pretty decent relationship and I have a lot of love and respect for him, and I really want to wish him well. The utterances that he would have made, we really just want to get past those and rekindle the kind of love and affection that existed prior to these comments.”

Butler, who is also the chief executive officer of Phoenix All Stars Football Academy, says that while Bailey isn’t against a return, several matters need to be addressed urgently.

“We’re Jamaicans first, always remember that,” Butler told the Observer. “The fact that we don’t accept unprofessionalism or being treated in a negative way doesn’t make us any less Jamaican or make us love our country any less. Sometimes, in order for people to change, they have to realise and be told the truth and sometimes the truth hurts — [and] Leon told the truth.

“We always want to have resolutions but we also want it to be permanent. We don’t want it to be a resolution today, Leon joins back the squad, and then the same things happen. I have no problem resolving it but it needs to be resolved permanently — not just a Band-Aid to put over the cut.”

Butler says a key condition to Bailey’s return is the fair inclusion of players associated with his academy into the national programme.

“It has to stop,” he said. “It has to reach a point where Phoenix players are not being ostracised just because they’re from Phoenix, or if [players] come to Phoenix, they won’t make the national team. The players are in a position where you cannot deny them and start to get to a position where you support the players.”

If a resolution emerges before the next squad is selected at the end of May, Ricketts is hoping Bailey will carry over his club form after underperforming with the Reggae Boyz in the past.

“He said to me, one day after the Canada game, ‘President, every time I go on the field I want to represent my country well.’ He probably felt that he wasn’t doing as well as he ought to have been doing, and he expressed his dissatisfaction with me,” Ricketts said.

“I said to him that, ‘You will lose your form but you will never lose your class.’ Leon just went through a bad patch but I think he’s doing well now and we just want, sooner or later, to transfer some of this form to the national set-up.”

Jamaica will begin its qualification campaign for the 2026 World Cup against the Dominican Republic and Dominica on June 6 and 9, respectively. Two weeks later they will turn their attention to the group stage of CONMEBOL’s Copa America in the USA where they will face Mexico, Ecuador, and Venezuela, with the top two guaranteed to advance.