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Parish's football executive calls for president's headCarl Gilchrist, Observer staff reporter
Thursday, June 14, 2007
The power struggle within the St Ann Football Association took a new turn yesterday with the executive members, who met on Monday, asking president Danny Beckford to resign on account of a lack of confidence in his handling of the parish's affairs.
The FA has also given Beckford 48 hours, ending today at approximately 6:00 pm, to withdraw a letter, which the FA says is unconstitutional.
But a defiant Beckford told the Observer he would not be withdrawing the letter and that he had the signatures of 16 affiliate members - with more to come - that have requested elections to install a new executive body to run the parish's football.
In a letter to the St Ann FA earlier this week, Beckford stated that an extraordinary Annual General Meeting would be held on July 15 at Marcus Garvey Technical High School in St Ann's Bay to elect a new executive.
The meeting should have been a no-voting one, but Beckford, in his letter, cited dissent by the rest of the executive as the reason for the elections.
But according to general secretary of the FA, Vanie Clarke, the FA's constitution did not allow for elections this year.
Beckford and the majority of the executive membership, which was elected last year, have been at odds since elections, with both sides disagreeing on how to move football forward in the parish.
Both sides have accused each other of working on their own, often disregarding the other.
The matter came to a head recently when the executive body cited concerns with the procedure with which cheques were being drawn on the Association's account.
It was revealed that cheques amounting to hundreds of thousands of dollars were drawn, some in the name of "one Danny Beckford", for which there were no supporting documents.
Clarke said this situation has to change. "I don't believe the money was spent inappropriately, but it's the method; we need to see some transparency," Clarke said.
"There are no books to be audited; we need to see supporting documents. In other words, we want to bring some sort of professionalism to football in St Ann," Clarke added.
Clarke said Beckford "works hard on the ground, but managerially, he is poor".
Clarke also referred to a recent admission by Beckford on Irie FM on Monday in which Beckford rated himself three out of 10 (30 per cent) in administrative performance.
Meanwhile, sources close to football in the parish claim the conflict has to do with the upcoming Jamaica Football Federation (JFF) Congress at which elections are slated to be held.
It is expected that former president Captain Horace Burrell will challenge Crenston Boxhill for the presidency.
Beckford, a known Burrell supporter, told the Observer he believes the current situation is being influenced by the upcoming Congress.
Thursday, June 14, 2007
The power struggle within the St Ann Football Association took a new turn yesterday with the executive members, who met on Monday, asking president Danny Beckford to resign on account of a lack of confidence in his handling of the parish's affairs.
The FA has also given Beckford 48 hours, ending today at approximately 6:00 pm, to withdraw a letter, which the FA says is unconstitutional.
But a defiant Beckford told the Observer he would not be withdrawing the letter and that he had the signatures of 16 affiliate members - with more to come - that have requested elections to install a new executive body to run the parish's football.
In a letter to the St Ann FA earlier this week, Beckford stated that an extraordinary Annual General Meeting would be held on July 15 at Marcus Garvey Technical High School in St Ann's Bay to elect a new executive.
The meeting should have been a no-voting one, but Beckford, in his letter, cited dissent by the rest of the executive as the reason for the elections.
But according to general secretary of the FA, Vanie Clarke, the FA's constitution did not allow for elections this year.
Beckford and the majority of the executive membership, which was elected last year, have been at odds since elections, with both sides disagreeing on how to move football forward in the parish.
Both sides have accused each other of working on their own, often disregarding the other.
The matter came to a head recently when the executive body cited concerns with the procedure with which cheques were being drawn on the Association's account.
It was revealed that cheques amounting to hundreds of thousands of dollars were drawn, some in the name of "one Danny Beckford", for which there were no supporting documents.
Clarke said this situation has to change. "I don't believe the money was spent inappropriately, but it's the method; we need to see some transparency," Clarke said.
"There are no books to be audited; we need to see supporting documents. In other words, we want to bring some sort of professionalism to football in St Ann," Clarke added.
Clarke said Beckford "works hard on the ground, but managerially, he is poor".
Clarke also referred to a recent admission by Beckford on Irie FM on Monday in which Beckford rated himself three out of 10 (30 per cent) in administrative performance.
Meanwhile, sources close to football in the parish claim the conflict has to do with the upcoming Jamaica Football Federation (JFF) Congress at which elections are slated to be held.
It is expected that former president Captain Horace Burrell will challenge Crenston Boxhill for the presidency.
Beckford, a known Burrell supporter, told the Observer he believes the current situation is being influenced by the upcoming Congress.
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