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Unapologetic about 'confed' sentiments
western bureau
It would appear that the column I wrote last week, which was published under the headline, 'Western confed' big joke, has ruffled quite a few feathers and has left several senior football administrators here in western Jamaica hopping mad.
Well, contrary to what some people might think, I bare no malice towards anyone. The article was written solely out of my firm conviction that the western confederation is in disarray and has basically lost its relevance as a vehicle to develop football in this region.
It is no secret that, within recent times, the 'western confed' has been a source of much embarrassment to the football fraternity. In addition to infractions such as its constant failure to meet its reporting obligations to the Jamaica Football Federation (JFF), there were more serious issues such as the much publicised fraud case against its former treasurer Mark Calvin.
While Mr. Calvin has publicly confessed to his fraudulent behaviour in regard to his unauthorised withdrawal of funds from the Western Referees Group, that matter is seemingly not dead as the latest report out of the Area One Fraud Squad is suggesting that they are now investigating the possible involvement of other persons.
In light of the above scenario and other issues such as the failure of the confederation's leadership to provide its membership with an audited account of its expenditure over the past four years, I can't see why any rational-minded person should consider questions about the financial affairs of the 'confed' as mischievous unless they have something to hide.
In fact, instead of trying to give the impression that I am trying to malign the 'confed', I believe the better course of action would be to provide a detailed explanation as to why teams such as Wadadah are owed prize money and several referees and match commissaries have been left holding the bag, despite the fact that main sponsors, The Captain's Bakery, has met its sponsorship obligations in full.
I make no apology in saying the 'confed' is a grand waste of time as it functions more like a private club than an unbrella for football development in the west. The organisation has not had a full members' meeting in four years and as a consequence, the decisions made do not reflect the views of all the parishes.
It is, therefore, not surprising to me that Linnel McLean, the president of the Trelawny FA, recently went public with his concerns about the running of the confederation. It was also not surprising that Orville Powell, the president of the St. James FA, declined a nomination for the chairmanship of the 'confed', citing the need for fundamental changes in its structure.
With what is clearly an untenable situation, I simply cannot understand why the JFF has not seen it fit to move in and conduct a proper investigation of the affairs of the confederation. While it might be true that the confed's leaders solidly supported the Burrell team in the recent JFF election, I don't believe that should insulate them from being accountable.
While I bare no malice towards anyone, I am not prepared to stand by and watch the good work of the administrators of the past being destroyed by the current leaders, who seem to be driven by selfishness rather than goodwill. In fact, if the new JFF leadership is true in its stated objective to develop national football, it must do something about the western 'confed.'
PS. Please send your feedback to: adrianfrater@hotmail.com
western bureau
It would appear that the column I wrote last week, which was published under the headline, 'Western confed' big joke, has ruffled quite a few feathers and has left several senior football administrators here in western Jamaica hopping mad.
Well, contrary to what some people might think, I bare no malice towards anyone. The article was written solely out of my firm conviction that the western confederation is in disarray and has basically lost its relevance as a vehicle to develop football in this region.
It is no secret that, within recent times, the 'western confed' has been a source of much embarrassment to the football fraternity. In addition to infractions such as its constant failure to meet its reporting obligations to the Jamaica Football Federation (JFF), there were more serious issues such as the much publicised fraud case against its former treasurer Mark Calvin.
While Mr. Calvin has publicly confessed to his fraudulent behaviour in regard to his unauthorised withdrawal of funds from the Western Referees Group, that matter is seemingly not dead as the latest report out of the Area One Fraud Squad is suggesting that they are now investigating the possible involvement of other persons.
In light of the above scenario and other issues such as the failure of the confederation's leadership to provide its membership with an audited account of its expenditure over the past four years, I can't see why any rational-minded person should consider questions about the financial affairs of the 'confed' as mischievous unless they have something to hide.
In fact, instead of trying to give the impression that I am trying to malign the 'confed', I believe the better course of action would be to provide a detailed explanation as to why teams such as Wadadah are owed prize money and several referees and match commissaries have been left holding the bag, despite the fact that main sponsors, The Captain's Bakery, has met its sponsorship obligations in full.
I make no apology in saying the 'confed' is a grand waste of time as it functions more like a private club than an unbrella for football development in the west. The organisation has not had a full members' meeting in four years and as a consequence, the decisions made do not reflect the views of all the parishes.
It is, therefore, not surprising to me that Linnel McLean, the president of the Trelawny FA, recently went public with his concerns about the running of the confederation. It was also not surprising that Orville Powell, the president of the St. James FA, declined a nomination for the chairmanship of the 'confed', citing the need for fundamental changes in its structure.
With what is clearly an untenable situation, I simply cannot understand why the JFF has not seen it fit to move in and conduct a proper investigation of the affairs of the confederation. While it might be true that the confed's leaders solidly supported the Burrell team in the recent JFF election, I don't believe that should insulate them from being accountable.
While I bare no malice towards anyone, I am not prepared to stand by and watch the good work of the administrators of the past being destroyed by the current leaders, who seem to be driven by selfishness rather than goodwill. In fact, if the new JFF leadership is true in its stated objective to develop national football, it must do something about the western 'confed.'
PS. Please send your feedback to: adrianfrater@hotmail.com