PRESIDENT of the Jamaica Football Federation (JFF) Michael Ricketts has lauded the inaugural staging of the Sandals/Beaches Community Football Competition for its contribution to the development of the sport in Jamaica.

Ricketts said that the sport has social transformational powers, not only on communities but the nation on a whole. He said the Sandals/Beaches Community Football Competition is playing its part in the process of social change through the “beautiful game”.

“I want to commend Sandals as these are the initiatives that we must use. The answer is not ZOSO [zones of special operations] and it is not state of emergency [SOE] — and I can assure you it’s not — it is social intervention. How are we going to impact the lives of little boys and little girls? How are we going to ensure that we give them an opportunity to spend their time wisely? They are going to enjoy what they are doing and they are going to think positively,” Ricketts said while delivering the keynote address at the presentation ceremony of the community league in the conference room at Sandals Royal Plantation recently.

The football boss said that the JFF intends to ensure that it is not just playing the sport of football, as his federation wants to impact the lives, culture, and social well-being of every single boy and girl in this country.

“I am absolutely sure that those who have participated in this recently concluded community league will have certainly enjoyed themselves. In addition to the commitment and loyalty you have to your community and your team, when you go on to the field of play you want to defend your community.

“Friends are there and family members are there, so you want to ensure that you make an impact on the community. Those little boys and those little girls at home are going to come out to watch you play, and this is a way to grow the sport,” Ricketts opined.

Meanwhile, 10 teams took part in the competition with Moon Palace being crowned champions. For their efforts they walked away with the championship trophy, $70,000, gold medals, and certificates.

Sandals Royal Plantation, who finished in second place, took home the runners-up trophy, $30,000, silver medals, and certificates. Beaches Ocho Rios received bronze medals for placing third.

The competition’s Most Valuable Player award went to Patrick Ramsey of Moon Palace, while Damion Lee from Unity Strikers was the leading goalscorer.

Sergeant Odette Murphy, community, safety, and security officer for St Ann, explained the crime fighters’ involvement in the competition.

She said that the members of the Jamaica Constabulary Force are cognisant of the importance of partnering with other organisations and social agencies to empower the citizenry, which is essentially the human capital needed to drive the diverse programme to achieve the desired result of nation-building.

“This football initiative with stakeholders stands to foster a good relationship, and with such interaction it is undoubtedly an ideal concept. Partnership is one of the components of community-based policing and cannot operate within a community without the involvement and participation of its members.

“The communities we serve are therefore critical to our existence as a force. We seek to police with the consent of the citizenry; this is a way to reignite community participation in the safety and security of the space where you live, work, and play.”

— Ruddy Allen