St Catherine FA could soon go bankrupt — McKay
DR Jason McKay, spokesman for New Raiders Football Club, believes it will only be a matter of time before the already financially-strapped St Catherine Football Association (SCAFA) goes bankrupt after yet another court ruling went against the Elaine Walker-Brown-led body last Friday.
New Raiders won a historic court action against SCAFA last Friday after Justice David Batts upheld an injunction barring the parish’s governing football body from finalising last season’s Division One until it hears the club’s appeal against deduction of points, enforced on the eve of the semi-finals.
Justice Batts’ ruling is the latest court action to have gone against SCAFA in the last two years under the leadership of Walker-Brown, a vice-president of the Jamaica Football Federation.
New Raiders had filed an injunction in June 2025 against sanctions imposed by the association, including the deduction of points for fielding players, who, the club argued, were granted written permission from SCAFA to compete in the 2024-2025 Division One season.
The loss of points resulted in New Raiders being booted out of the semi-finals to which they had advanced from the preliminary rounds, hoping to gain promotion to the Major League as one of two finalists.
Despite New Raiders’ appeal, SCAFA moved ahead by hosting the Division One semi-finals, excluding New Raiders, prompting the club’s injunction against a final being played.
SCAFA further skirted the court’s ruling by promoting ‘semi-final winners’, Edgewater and Beacon Hill, to the Major League, while New Raiders were left in limbo, stuck in Division One, awaiting their appeal.
“This makes the third case, so far, in which costs have been awarded against the association. These fees amount to millions and millions of dollars. It is just a matter of time before the extremely slow court process of determining the actual fees will be completed,” McKay pointed out.
“We’re not even tabulating other existing cases before the court that have not been ruled on from which damages are likely to arise. Will the St Catherine clubs and the Jamaica Football Federation sit and allow one person to bankrupt SCAFA, one of the island’s biggest football organisations?” McKay asked.
Though the association had gone ahead and promoted teams to the Major League, McKay welcomed the ruling, saying New Raiders, similar to Royale Lakes, will receive a fair hearing.
“The decision reinforces the principle that court orders must be obeyed. No association, not even FIFA, is above the authority of Jamaica’s courts,” said McKay, doubling down on his assertion that legal costs are mounting against the association.
“As I have been at pains pointing out, SCAFA’s president, through the many court battles lost, will soon bankrupt the already struggling organisation, which had to delay kicking off the 2025 Major League after referees failed to show, reportedly protesting $1.35 million in unpaid fees from the previous season.”
Calls to Walker-Brown indicated her mobile was “either off or out-of-range”, unavailable to comment on another courtroom loss to an affiliated club.
New Raiders had previously won a court skirmish against SCAFA, which had sought to have clubs sign an affiliation document prohibiting legal action against the association.
Last February, another SCAFA club, Royale Lakes, had a two-year ban overturned, imposed on the eve of the Major League kick-off by SCAFA, for breaching FIFA rules, which prohibit affiliates from pursuing court action outside of its internal structures and the Court of Arbitration for Sport.
The ban stemmed from Royale Lakes securing a successful injunction against SCAFA for acting contrary to its constitution, which had forced a postponement of its elections in July 2024.