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Sporting Central Academy faces uncertainty
…legal battle looms
By Earl Bailey, Editor
September 29, 2008
Football- News
Within a day or two there could be upheavals at Brancourt and Sporting Central Academy. The Digicel Premier League club is now caught in the middle of a tug-of-war for ownership between Brandon Murray and Wayne Ebanks of EZ Cash Loan Services. Murray is recognized by the JFF as the owner/operator of the club, but Ebanks says this is not so. If an agreement is not speedily reached, the Clarendon club could be evicted from its home and a legal battle looms to determine ownership, if not the fate of the club.
“I bought the property last year, but I allowed them (Brandon Murray etc) to collect gate receipts for two years and pump it back into the club,” Ebanks told JamaicaWin.com in an exclusive interview. “I then bought majority shares in the club over time.”
Ebanks said that he wants to improve the club and property but is being hampered by Murray.
Ebanks, a Kingston businessman, said that he was approached by Murray to pump some money into the club after they had qualified for the National Premier League last year. His company made the decision to buy the property. He said a few months after he bought the land, Murray came back and said he needed more funds so, “he sold me 40 percent of the football club for $4 million.” They registered a company called Sporting Central Academy Limited to make the agreement legal, as the club was not operating with a proper structure, according to Ebanks.
Eanks said he fenced the property, installed new stands and paved the parking area to ensure that the property would meet the conditions laid down by the Jamaica Football Federation for teams playing in the National Premier League.
“He (Mr Murray) came back later and said he wanted more funds so he sold me a further 11 percent. Therefore I am now the majority shareholder of the club with 51 percent,” said Mr Ebanks. “We had been doing all the administrative work and accounts at my office and allowed him to carry out the technical and tactical work.”
He said his company spent almost $10 million on the club last year.
Ebanks said things changed in February this year. “It appeared that Mr Murray changed his mind. He started to do things on his own,” said the businessman. “He started to do things without consulting us. It looked like he thought he make a mistake and wanted to correct it,” he told JamaicaWin.com.
“He approached us in June this year and said he wanted to buy back the club (not the property). We reached an agreement with him that the first deposit should have been paid in August. He backed out. The final amount is due on September 30.
“If that deposit is not forthcoming, we want the Jamaica Football Federation to recognize that EZ Cash Loan Services is the rightful owners of the club,” said Ebanks.
He said he wants to rename, rebrand and upgrade the facility.
“He is holding up the improvements that we have for the property and the club. We want to upgrade this to a proper academy equipped with dormitories, install lights etc,” insists Ebanks.
The businessman went on to say that, “if the JFF does not treat well with this situation, this will send a bad signal to other investors who may want to come into the sport.”
“I am the owner of the property and the club and the players know that I have their interest at heart. I want to work with Brandon, but I want him to recognize that I own the entity.”
When contacted, Murray declined comment, stating that this was a legal issue and he would respond only if the agreement is made public. Murray represents the club at meetings of the Premier League Clubs Association and is recognized as the General Manager by the JFF.
Brancourt, situated in Clarendon Park, is the premier football facility in central Jamaica. The DaCosta Cup Final was played there last year.
(Click into JamaicaWin.com blogs and discuss.)
…legal battle looms
By Earl Bailey, Editor
September 29, 2008
Football- News
Within a day or two there could be upheavals at Brancourt and Sporting Central Academy. The Digicel Premier League club is now caught in the middle of a tug-of-war for ownership between Brandon Murray and Wayne Ebanks of EZ Cash Loan Services. Murray is recognized by the JFF as the owner/operator of the club, but Ebanks says this is not so. If an agreement is not speedily reached, the Clarendon club could be evicted from its home and a legal battle looms to determine ownership, if not the fate of the club.
“I bought the property last year, but I allowed them (Brandon Murray etc) to collect gate receipts for two years and pump it back into the club,” Ebanks told JamaicaWin.com in an exclusive interview. “I then bought majority shares in the club over time.”
Ebanks said that he wants to improve the club and property but is being hampered by Murray.
Ebanks, a Kingston businessman, said that he was approached by Murray to pump some money into the club after they had qualified for the National Premier League last year. His company made the decision to buy the property. He said a few months after he bought the land, Murray came back and said he needed more funds so, “he sold me 40 percent of the football club for $4 million.” They registered a company called Sporting Central Academy Limited to make the agreement legal, as the club was not operating with a proper structure, according to Ebanks.
Eanks said he fenced the property, installed new stands and paved the parking area to ensure that the property would meet the conditions laid down by the Jamaica Football Federation for teams playing in the National Premier League.
“He (Mr Murray) came back later and said he wanted more funds so he sold me a further 11 percent. Therefore I am now the majority shareholder of the club with 51 percent,” said Mr Ebanks. “We had been doing all the administrative work and accounts at my office and allowed him to carry out the technical and tactical work.”
He said his company spent almost $10 million on the club last year.
Ebanks said things changed in February this year. “It appeared that Mr Murray changed his mind. He started to do things on his own,” said the businessman. “He started to do things without consulting us. It looked like he thought he make a mistake and wanted to correct it,” he told JamaicaWin.com.
“He approached us in June this year and said he wanted to buy back the club (not the property). We reached an agreement with him that the first deposit should have been paid in August. He backed out. The final amount is due on September 30.
“If that deposit is not forthcoming, we want the Jamaica Football Federation to recognize that EZ Cash Loan Services is the rightful owners of the club,” said Ebanks.
He said he wants to rename, rebrand and upgrade the facility.
“He is holding up the improvements that we have for the property and the club. We want to upgrade this to a proper academy equipped with dormitories, install lights etc,” insists Ebanks.
The businessman went on to say that, “if the JFF does not treat well with this situation, this will send a bad signal to other investors who may want to come into the sport.”
“I am the owner of the property and the club and the players know that I have their interest at heart. I want to work with Brandon, but I want him to recognize that I own the entity.”
When contacted, Murray declined comment, stating that this was a legal issue and he would respond only if the agreement is made public. Murray represents the club at meetings of the Premier League Clubs Association and is recognized as the General Manager by the JFF.
Brancourt, situated in Clarendon Park, is the premier football facility in central Jamaica. The DaCosta Cup Final was played there last year.
(Click into JamaicaWin.com blogs and discuss.)
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